Well THAT was interesting.
It only took 15 minutes for us to learn Rob Reiner and team had a HUGE axe to grind. This wasn't a movie, it wasn't even a movie with a message, it was a message wrapped around a movie. (See notes at the end.)
Sometimes Rob Reiner is a great filmmaker and sometimes Rob Reiner isn't a great filmmaker. With Shock and Awe, Reiner failed. Every three or four minutes he found some way to hit us over the head with his moral compass (ouch). That's certainly his right, but he did it with no subtlety whatsoever, and nobody likes being force-fed someone else's opinion. When a parent teaches a child that stoves are hot, the parent doesn't put the kid's hand on the burner. Instead, the parent illustrates the heat by showing its effects on something else - a pot of boiling water, maybe, or possibly even bringing the child's hand close to the burner. But Reiner didn't do that - he put the audience's hands directly on the burner and held them there for 90 minutes. I don't know about you, but I don't like being lectured, especially for an hour and a half.
If it weren't for the profanity I'd swear this was a TV Movie of the Week, including the gentle, bittersweet music underscoring various scenes. Seriously, this played just like a made-for-TV movie. Shock and Awe was technically proficient, but that was its ONLY saving grace.
If you watch Shock and Awe, please don't mistake it for serious, skilled filmmaking. It's neither.
NOTES
1. I don't dispute Reiner's opinion of what the Bush administration did and didn't do, and the facts bear that out. I have no quarrel with Reiner in that regard.
2. I worked in the newspaper industry for many years and I can say that the general tone of the newsroom scenes, at least at times, was inaccurate. At other times, it was spot-on. There tends to be a good deal of sarcastic humor floating about newsrooms, but it's kept in check when appropriate.
3. I'm a Navy veteran, for whatever that's worth. I only mention it so my dear readers (both of you) will have a better understanding of where I'm coming from as I write this review.
It only took 15 minutes for us to learn Rob Reiner and team had a HUGE axe to grind. This wasn't a movie, it wasn't even a movie with a message, it was a message wrapped around a movie. (See notes at the end.)
Sometimes Rob Reiner is a great filmmaker and sometimes Rob Reiner isn't a great filmmaker. With Shock and Awe, Reiner failed. Every three or four minutes he found some way to hit us over the head with his moral compass (ouch). That's certainly his right, but he did it with no subtlety whatsoever, and nobody likes being force-fed someone else's opinion. When a parent teaches a child that stoves are hot, the parent doesn't put the kid's hand on the burner. Instead, the parent illustrates the heat by showing its effects on something else - a pot of boiling water, maybe, or possibly even bringing the child's hand close to the burner. But Reiner didn't do that - he put the audience's hands directly on the burner and held them there for 90 minutes. I don't know about you, but I don't like being lectured, especially for an hour and a half.
If it weren't for the profanity I'd swear this was a TV Movie of the Week, including the gentle, bittersweet music underscoring various scenes. Seriously, this played just like a made-for-TV movie. Shock and Awe was technically proficient, but that was its ONLY saving grace.
If you watch Shock and Awe, please don't mistake it for serious, skilled filmmaking. It's neither.
NOTES
1. I don't dispute Reiner's opinion of what the Bush administration did and didn't do, and the facts bear that out. I have no quarrel with Reiner in that regard.
2. I worked in the newspaper industry for many years and I can say that the general tone of the newsroom scenes, at least at times, was inaccurate. At other times, it was spot-on. There tends to be a good deal of sarcastic humor floating about newsrooms, but it's kept in check when appropriate.
3. I'm a Navy veteran, for whatever that's worth. I only mention it so my dear readers (both of you) will have a better understanding of where I'm coming from as I write this review.