LogFAQs > #936327639

Watched Polar (2019) last night, a NF original (?) based on a web comic. My first thought during the opening credits were recent discussions of the "infantalization (sp?) of adults" where ostentatiously high-brow pundits argued that the success of things like comic book movies (although when I was considering the concept, I realized it might have more specifically been referring to superhero films) is demonstrative of a loss of either maturity or intellectualism in adults. And, sitting through something like Polar, I somewhat have to agree that the film insults one's intelligence... although it's still a fun ride!

I'm happy that I slogged through the awful opening minutes where we see a team of hitmen carry out a stupidly convoluted kill, followed by an introduction to the film's protagonist (Duncan Vizla, aka "The Black Kaiser" -- a nickname so silly that it could only be at home in a comic book) as he goes to a doctor's appointment, runs errands, and meets with his soon-to-be-former handler (because the assassination group arbitrarily retires agents at age 50, at which point they can collect their pension). The early going is dull, but later on we get a lot of enjoyable, over-the-top comic nonsense between the outsized personalities of the hitman team seen earlier, the organization's Austin Powers villain-esque leader (ie, a bad clone of a Bond villain played more for laughs), "colorful" minor characters, etc.

Of course, one of the highlights is the hot assassin chicks and, after seeing one bounce around in various cute outfits throughout the film, we do eventually get to see her nude which was a pleasant surprise. (Up until then, we already had several softcore scenes involving nudity as well, but it didn't involve characters I cared about.)

Polar, for the most part, is as goofy and convoluted as the opening kill sequence. We have a few plot threads that don't go anywhere (like the discussion of... well, what seems like the sale of the organization), although they might exist only to provide pointless exposition as to the motives (which themselves are suspect given how highly paid the assassins are in the first place.)

Speaking of things not going anywhere, you also Camile who is kidnapped and drugged towards the end of the movie... but that's all that happens to her. I kinda expect that she was probably raped and heavily degraded in the original comic but, because she's played by DIsney star Vanessa Hudgens, the more extreme stuff was omitted to protect her career since otherwise Disney might not use her.

I also should mention the ending, which I suppose no matter how they handled I wouldn't like. For starters, there's the barely-foreshadowed revelation that Camile is a child that Duncan let survive after a botched hit and had been paying money to all this time. Had it been set up better, I might have enjoyed this twist. However, my bigger issue is the handling thereafter. If Camile had killed Duncan, that would be a pretty cool conclusion to the story arc when you consider how much shit he'd avoided all along and that this is what finally gets him. I'm not sure how much I'd actually enjoy that ending, though -- and I guess it also ties back into the "infantalization of adults" schtick since happy endings are viewed as being more kiddy and -- to some extent -- less thought-provoking. Instead, they talk it out and he agrees to help her get revenge against whoever hired him to do it. Coincidentally, that's the kind of conclusion I imagine I'd want to see had she actually killed him instead.

shadowsword87 posted...

And you need to learn that voice is the best way of convoying emotions.
Almost like it's human beings talking to humans, weird.

Actually, body language is supposedly the best way of conveying emotion. Vocal intonations make up a surprisingly smaller amount of emotional conveyance, probably because it's easier to mask voice than it is body (excluding by not letting somebody see you)

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Some people are so self-conscious about speaking in character that they shut completely down. Text can create a buffer where they can play in character while they'd never be able to do so in person. Especially if they're playing with strangers or other people they feel are more likely to be judgemental. For those sorts of people, the difference between text and speaking is going to be the difference between playing as your character and playing the entire game saying things like "My character does this" and "My character says that he's interested in hearing more" or "My character describes the battle to the merchant". And trying to force them to speak in first-person or describe their actions in first-person isn't going to encourage them to get better/more relaxed as much as it's going to encourage them to stop RPing entirely.

That and there's the immersion-killing dissonance when somebody is playing a character vastly unlike themselves.

EvilMegas posted...

Fear and ignorance makes people dumb

Ignorance is more a state of being dumb rather than "making people" dumb >_> As for fear, it can actually *heighten* the senses and help you react more quickly, a notion more typically associated with intelligence.


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There are precious few at ease / With moral ambiguities / So we act as though they don't exist.