Truths can be in soap operas and comic books.
Henry J. Wilcoxen-Ash
One of the consequences of the Corona Pandemic for me was unlimited Internet access (when it was obvious how things would develop — around early to mid-March — I bit the bullet and bought a two-year contract for an unlimited cellphone data flatrate). With it came an “fuck it, if I pay for it, I might as well use it” attitude to data consumption and a Netflix account. And there were many good series and movies so far (e.g., “The Witcher”, “Attack on Titan” — if only the first season, but by the Gods, what a series, and much more(*)) as well as a few really rotten ones.
But one of those surprisingly good movies was … “Battleship“.
And yeah, the movie is strangely advertised as the movie adaption of the game “Battleship”. Which is … strenuous at best. But the movie itself — hell, I had a good time. It’s just a great flick, with actors having a good time.
Looking at the story, the patriotism, the respect for honor and dignity, including for those who lost parts of their bodies in service of their country(**) … I can see how they sold it to “THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE” (mentioned first and with an empty line beneath it in the “SPECIAL THANKS TO” credits). Seriously, in todays world of milk-toast movies and series with a social justice agenda, this 2012 military science fiction action film is a breath of fresh air, even if it came from the past. Which it refers to — and honors. Those who made their country possible.
It’s a feel good movie, and even nerds get their day in this movie. No obvious social justice agenda. People just do their job, and well, no matter their sex or race or age, as it should be. And there is this really interesting idea of a ship being not only able to deal out damage but to take it (destroyer vs battleship), and I wonder whether this isn’t something for today. Strangely metaphorical for many people on social media 😉
And yeah, I also think it’s also a sort of miscommunication. Military on both sides reacting to a new situation, with lots and lots of miscommunication. A — for humans — normal blow of the horn (usual warning on sea) gets replied by an Alien equivalent, which is damaging to human ears (and equipment), which leads to shots being fired, which leads to … well, a Battleship game. Things might have gone differently, especially considering the lots and lots of similarities the two species had (behavior, equipment, physiology, etc. pp.).
Still, that movie … it you are looking for a two-hours escape from reality … highly recommended.
(*) On the other hand, even free access to “Star Trek: Discovery” couldn’t even motivate me one inch to look at that series. Yeah, subscription service isn’t free, but given how many shows and movies I have already watched, usually parallel to doing something else, it might as well be free. And I wouldn’t even touch that STD with a stick. Suck it, that Star Trek humanism is gone. They’ve killed it.
(**) You can be critical of a country. You can (rightfully) think that (some) wars aren’t necessary. But you can’t fault them for their bravery. If there is any fault, it lies within the government, by those that started these wars.
