Pro-wrestler battles aliens plot
By Brian Offenther |
July 29, 2013, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
The subject of this column was to be a different film, but 鈥淭hey Live鈥 proves to be the perfect follow-up to last week鈥檚 鈥淭he Running Man.鈥
As discussed last week, 鈥淭he Running Man鈥 is a movie sustained by Arnold Schwarzenegger star-power, but limited by poor production and a plot that mostly squanders a great premise.
鈥淭hey Live鈥 starts in a similar situation. w
We have a lead performance by Roddy Piper. He doesn鈥檛 have the film career of Schwarzenegger, but that isn鈥檛 a knock on Piper鈥檚 star power. Although he doesn鈥檛 have the instantly impressionable physique, years of spotlight in the 鈥渟quared-circle鈥 of the wrestling ring have proven his star quality. What he lacks in formidable presence is made up for by a quick wit and a warm, worn look.
He鈥檚 thrown in a world where TV stations are being hacked by an underground group that claims to want to expose a plot that secretly aligns political and corporate interests. Without giving too much away 鈥 it鈥檚 on the poster 鈥 Piper soon gains a pair of sunglasses that allow him to see that these power brokers are actually aliens! More so, with these glasses, he鈥檚 able to see through their propaganda in the form of corporate advertising: a billboard advertising Caribbean vacations says 鈥渕arry and produce,鈥 clothing tags read 鈥渘o independent thought,鈥 etc. In the film鈥檚 famous catchphrase, Piper only has one thing to do, and it isn鈥檛 chew bubble gum, it鈥檚 kill the aliens.
鈥淭hey Live鈥 is equal parts action film and science-fiction genre flick, and is willing to bask in long action sequences, including its unprecedented five-minute two-fan fist fight.
Impressive action is to be hoped for, if not expected. More essentially, it does something that 鈥淭he Running Man鈥 never does and constantly digs past the premise to unveil interesting tidbits of information. It allows 鈥淭hey Live鈥 to be appreciated on two levels simultaneously: viscerally and intellectually.
The message here is clear: be wary of powered elites. But reading that message is reductive and uninteresting. Seeing the message in action, ripped apart by a pro-wrestler? A much more interesting prospect.
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