adrianswingler

The movie wasn't funny. It made me angry. So, why such polarized reviews? I think it's a statement about the state of affairs in the US.

The US has always been full of bone-deep anti-intellectuals. Anyone with an education is suspect. We've got a joke of a President because a certain segment were fed up with people with educations telling them to be more respectful of everyone and get over out-dated behaviors. But this goes further. This movie is the cinematic equivalent of the kind of societal failure that whips out of a parking lot in front of you, forcing you to brake heavily to avoid an accident, then drives painfully slow. That's the kind of person that finds this movie funny. The kind of person that will never achieve anything...except they can keep you from getting something done!

So, what's wrong with a movie for people like that? Well, like the aforementioned crowd that worships the orange one, it's cruel! It's not just that aggressive anti-intellectualism is cool, so is being rude and cruel. "What's wrong with pulling the wings off flies, you pointy headed intellectual!" Yeah. It's on that level.

Does that whole phenomenon anger you as well? Well, that's the one useful thing about this movie. Those people like to lie about their feelings and keep their ugliness behind closed doors with their buddies. This movie is a good way to ferret them out. And you can see the denial/projection in the reviews. "Something wrong with you". Just what I said. So, when reviews say, "If you don't find this funny, there's something wrong with you", it's just like all the other things that 1/3 minority is angry about. Someone not being like them. Someone knowing something that they never will. Someone acting like humans aren't naturally cruel and insensitive.

Isn't that hilarious?!?

And if you think there can't be enough people like that to account for the positive reviews, just look at the reviews for any of Tarantino's travesties of cinema. Mindless tribalism and video game ethics rampant.

If the message could have been put more metaphorically, this might have worked. But doing it straight ahead in such a pedantic tone- whilst being just wrong- doesn't cut it. The fact is a gull couldn't do that; humans are one of the few species that could. Pedantic dressed up as cutesy. Lose!

And as far as teaching goes, the main thing it has taught three generations is the grammatically incorrect "seagull". There's no such thing people. They're "gulls". Seagull. Right. As opposed to "landgull"?

I agree with the other reviews on here and wasn't going to write one, but thought there was something I could add. I'm not one of the "so bad it's good" crowd. 90% of the time when I've seen something billed that way I've come away saying, "No, that was just bad". "Petey Wheatstraw" comes to mind.

But this one works. It's more absurdist than parody, though some bits are just inscrutable (why does he dress as Cato whenever he fights Dracula???) It appears that it's only bad when it wants to appear bad. It definitely is a "B-movie", but it's a bit to well thought out to actually be one. Not that that means the screenplay is logical. It isn't. But the moving bits fit together just a bit too well to actually be an inferior effort. If you're in the mood for a "so bad it's good" and one of the crowd doesn't swing that way, but likes martial arts films, you could safely give this one a go.

The fighting is largely karate, with obvious bits of Gung Fu added to make it look kind of like Gung Fu. Is that deliberate? Low budget? Who knows. The karate ain't bad. Bits of Muay Thai and lots of other things. Bruce imitates so many of Lee's mannerisms that it doesn't much matter, but for those that want a bit of serious martial arts, some of the karate choreography isn't bad. Again, revealing that it's not so "B" as it wishes to appear.

So, my verdict is "crazy like a fox". Which isn't to underestimate how crazy it is. Popeye. (Cum theme music and real life versions of his classic animation sequences) Yeah, dudes, you betray that you're thinking more than an Ed Wood would. (And that pun is totally in keeping with this film).