Jay and silent who? by Martin Thomas
Hater: Taken from IMDB
"OK. So after reading the other reviews and deciding to watch this based on the positive reports, I feel compelled to offer a more realistic review. First of all, this is not the masterpiece it's made out to be. A lot of Kevin Smith fanboys seem reluctant to give him a bad review. So here we go, it's a bit of a mess really. It seems to be getting a lot of praise for switching genres but honestly, it just comes across as confused. Yes, the performances are pretty good and some of the camera work is exceptional (the escape/chase scene is noteworthy) but overall it's almost like three films in one. This might sound like a good thing but not the way it's presented here.And as for everybody trying to get clever over the title, the meaning is pretty clear to me. It refers to both the political and the government angle that the authorities can lock any suspected terrorist up for an indefinite time. A la communist/red states.Overall, some good performances, memorable dialogue and decent cinematography fail to save this confused mess."
All in all, a pretty fair summary of the movie. While by no means a bad movie, and a perfectly enjoyable way to spend 90 mins, it is a long way from being the masterpiece Kevin Smith and his fanboys would have you believe
Lover: Taken from IMDB
"Like most Smith fans I was eager and curious to see the newest of his Movies, I had seen so much press that the anticipation was killing me although I must admit I was scared that he wouldn't pull it off and I would be left hurt and disappointed. However this did not happen instead Smith built up tension beautifully to create a twisted religious world that seems far too familiar to the viewer. This film captures you in every way managing to horrify and amuse simultaneously. A masterful approach to story telling that will remain one of the most prominent and poignant strings on his bow."
So, a Kevin Smith fan loved it- surprise, surprise! But the question remains, would this reviewer have loved it if this movie was not clearly marked as written and directed by Kevin Smith?
What Martin Thought:
For those of you unfamiliar with the story behind Red State, a quick recap. Kevin Smith made this movie for 4 million; if he sells it to a studio they will spend 20 million on marketing. Then double that figure of 24 million (the studio only takes 50 percent of box office takings, the rest goes to the cinema that actually shows the movie) and this film would need to take 48 million at the box office just to break even- which as Kevin Smith himself freely admits, simply aint gonna happen with one of his movies. You are either a fan of Kevin Smith, in which case you are going to see the movie anyway, or you dislike him/have never heard of him- in which case you won’t. So, why market it? Why not just take the movie on tour yourself, showing it to your fanatical and loyal audience? Which is exactly what he has done, touring the movie across the USA to audiences packed with fanboys.
So, as a Kevin Smith fanboy myself, I must have loved this right? Hmmm…….
For those of you that have ever seen a Kevin Smith movie previously (and if you haven’t, why not? Go and watch Clerks. Then Mallrats), this is unlike anything he has ever done previously. No Jay, no silent Bob, and I can’t remember a single dick joke. The movie revolves around 3 typical male teenagers controlled by their hormones who arrange over the internet to meet a woman for sex. What could possibly go wrong?
Well, as those of you who ever seen a movie before have probably guessed, quite a lot.
Things soon turn sour when the teenagers are kidnapped by a religious family, the Coopers, inspired by the real life Phelps family and their Westboro Baptist Church, famous for picketing funerals of soldiers and celebrities with slogans such as ‘God hates Fags’ - yeah, a lovely bunch of people.
It is from here that the film gets interesting- Kevin Smith makes a deliberate effort to provide you the unexpected and stay far away from the clichés of the genre you are used to. Who survives, who dies, who is good and who is evil is never clear - and that is perhaps the best thing you can say about this movie, it is never predictable. Unfortunately the downside to this is a movie that aims for a lot of targets in its 88 minute running time, and never quite hits any of them. While you have to give Kevin Smith credit for trying something different, making the movie he wanted to make and making it outside of the studio system, none of that masks the fact that the movie isn’t quite as great as its director would lead you to believe.
In Cinemas now
Running Time: 88 mins
Cert: 18
