3.24.2011

Sucker Punch, Movie Critics, and Video Games: Name Calling at its Finest

So according to what I've heard, Sucker Punch is the next big movie critics say you shouldn't see because it resembles a video game. Say what now?

That's right, movie critics have apparently decided that their next big tactic to halt the growing advance of video games as a medium is to remind everyone they can that each new movie that isn't up to snuff is so because it embraces "...the video game mold..." It's not enough to constantly rag on games, now they're reminding everyone that what they hold as the worst movies are comparable to the video game industry as a whole.



Now I haven't seen Sucker Punch, nor do I really plan to because the reviews make some good points about where the movie falls apart. But what the reviews don't do well at is the constant reminder to readers that the worst parts of the movies are all what one would expect from the standard gaming experience. This is absolute garbage. Both mediums have their weak moments, but slandering one as a whole with stereotypes like "...pimply adolescent Xbox fiend...." is way over the line.

Look movie critics, we get it. You're old and bitter because the gaming industry has stolen a good chunk of your livelihood. Why not adapt with the times, rather then stooping to insults and behavior better fit to a kindergarten classroom? I don't care if the movie was bad or good, I care that you used your reviews of Sucker Punch to push your own dislike for a medium, and its by far not the first time. Battle: LA borrowed plenty of video game elements to produce a likeable enough action flick, but critics slammed it for doing so. As I write this the Metacritic critic reviews stand at 37%, while the user reviews stand at 6.2. That's a pretty large difference for some people that are supposed to represent the 'experts.'

No comments: