I've heard about the movie from a guy that was ecstatic about it. Frustrated, as many educated people are, with the ridiculous, stupid and petty show we get on TV every day, he felt vindicated by this movie in which a guy is killing people because they promote the worst. However, in the end, no matter how frustrated I would get, I can't empathise with the main character. Not because he kills people, but because he does it only when he loses his job and he is going to die. That reduces his entire discourse and killing spree to a mere psychotic breakdown. The girl wasn't a lot better either, with her impulses to kill anything she did not agree with, she was just as close minded as the people she wanted to kill.
In a way, it reminds me of Falling Down, with the same idea of a man who can't take the ugliness of the world anymore. But he always had the option to turn the TV off and he did not, making himself his own victim. The lack of realism in the film was also something to throw me off the plot. And the last nail in the coffin is the melange of themes taken from other films: the brain tumour, the unfair laying off on fake harassment grounds, the estranged family that lives with another man, the precocious female companion (and no, I don't mean he stole it from Dr.Who).
The conclusion is that for me this is a failed film. The real problem is not the idiotic content on TV, but the myriads of idiots that like it. The film also reminds me of the movie The Last Supper from '95, a much better satire of society and with a lot more direct impact. If you want to vent your frustration, watch Falling Down. If you want a powerful social commentary, watch the Last Supper. This movie... is just a little sad.
In a way, it reminds me of Falling Down, with the same idea of a man who can't take the ugliness of the world anymore. But he always had the option to turn the TV off and he did not, making himself his own victim. The lack of realism in the film was also something to throw me off the plot. And the last nail in the coffin is the melange of themes taken from other films: the brain tumour, the unfair laying off on fake harassment grounds, the estranged family that lives with another man, the precocious female companion (and no, I don't mean he stole it from Dr.Who).
The conclusion is that for me this is a failed film. The real problem is not the idiotic content on TV, but the myriads of idiots that like it. The film also reminds me of the movie The Last Supper from '95, a much better satire of society and with a lot more direct impact. If you want to vent your frustration, watch Falling Down. If you want a powerful social commentary, watch the Last Supper. This movie... is just a little sad.