I wouldn't be surprised if Antebellum drew inspiration from Welcome II the Terrordome even if it eventually subverts that earlier film's conceit of a temporal crucible. There are just too many lines to draw between them. Through editing and coincidental detail, the film tries to convince you that Janelle Monáe's character is living in two time frames, each dreaming of the other, and if some audiences might have scratched their heads at it, it would have perhaps been more interesting and poignant. As it stands, the slave narrative is brutal and gripping, while her life as an activist/pundit naturally lacks the same motive power (though Gabourey Sidibe is a charm in this section). But ultimately, the solution is perhaps unimportant even if it could have been narratively braver. The idea is to make ancestral trauma manifest and contextualize past and present struggles as part of the same continuum - and perhaps more importantly, to do the same with past and present racism. Monáe's a queen, as usual. Jena Malone is damn creepy as one of the villains.
"Unsubtle" is right. There's plenty of exploitative moments here to be found littered throughout the film, dulling its potential well-intentioned message against modern prejudice - real prejudice that is far subtler and more opaque than the "Evulz White Men" of this film try so hard to be. You could practically dress them up as Stormtroopers part of the Nazi Galactic Empire of Star Wars and it would've matched the tone.
There's very little to appreciate here, both on an intellectual and entertainment level. It's indeed well-shot and has breathtaking cinematography and soundtrack... but that's about all this shallow propaganda has going for it.
There's so much potential with the concept of the story that's wasted. Seriously, when I first saw the trailer, I envisioned something grander, more unique and interesting. The script could've worked better as a sci-fi time-travel movie. It doesn't even need to be set in the past; it could've even been set in an alternate future, like Planet of the Apes, but with white people instead of apes. "Get your stinking hands off me, you damn dirty cracka!"
Anyway, this is probably why Tarantino decided to inject dark comedy into racism; anything else would've been done before.
The movie has two timelines and consists of three parts: past, present and the solution. Past is thrilling and well done, present is quite boring actually and seems a bit too long; and the timelines solution, I didn't expect THAT, so well done too.
Liked the theme music, don't forgot the sounds.
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Siskoid
I wouldn't be surprised if Antebellum drew inspiration from Welcome II the Terrordome even if it eventually subverts that earlier film's conceit of a temporal crucible. There are just too many lines to draw between them. Through editing and coincidental detail, the film tries to convince you that Janelle Monáe's character is living in two time frames, each dreaming of the other, and if some audiences might have scratched their heads at it, it would have perhaps been more interesting and poignant. As it stands, the slave narrative is brutal and gripping, while her life as an activist/pundit naturally lacks the same motive power (though Gabourey Sidibe is a charm in this section). But ultimately, the solution is perhaps unimportant even if it could have been narratively braver. The idea is to make ancestral trauma manifest and contextualize past and present struggles as part of the same continuum - and perhaps more importantly, to do the same with past and present racism. Monáe's a queen, as usual. Jena Malone is damn creepy as one of the villains.MemphisRyder
"Unsubtle" is right. There's plenty of exploitative moments here to be found littered throughout the film, dulling its potential well-intentioned message against modern prejudice - real prejudice that is far subtler and more opaque than the "Evulz White Men" of this film try so hard to be. You could practically dress them up as Stormtroopers part of the Nazi Galactic Empire of Star Wars and it would've matched the tone.There's very little to appreciate here, both on an intellectual and entertainment level. It's indeed well-shot and has breathtaking cinematography and soundtrack... but that's about all this shallow propaganda has going for it.
There's so much potential with the concept of the story that's wasted. Seriously, when I first saw the trailer, I envisioned something grander, more unique and interesting. The script could've worked better as a sci-fi time-travel movie. It doesn't even need to be set in the past; it could've even been set in an alternate future, like Planet of the Apes, but with white people instead of apes. "Get your stinking hands off me, you damn dirty cracka!"
Anyway, this is probably why Tarantino decided to inject dark comedy into racism; anything else would've been done before.
Marcus Fenix
I just have one question, Why???CodeV
The movie has two timelines and consists of three parts: past, present and the solution. Past is thrilling and well done, present is quite boring actually and seems a bit too long; and the timelines solution, I didn't expect THAT, so well done too.Liked the theme music, don't forgot the sounds.