Monday, March 9, 2009

"Generation Kill" (2008)--3/5

“Generation Kill” has the tendency to commodify its own colloquialism. Ed Burns and David Simon, creators of “The Wire,” are in love with their own verisimilitude. Is it possible to say that “Generation Kill” feels accurate, but in a cold, calculated way?

The most prominent example of "Genereation Kill's" authenticity is the dialogue. The Marines speak in a complex, unexplained slang, so much so that the titles of the episodes are derived from it: “Screwby,” “Stay Frosty,” “Get Some,” etc. But why is author Evan Wright’s character so prominent? The “Rolling Stone” journalist is forever moon-faced, experiencing war as a neophyte, having things explained to him. He wrote the book, he was there, so he’s on the show, I get it. It could be the choice of actor: the not-up-to-it Lee Tergeson.

Only a few times in “Generation Kill” do the Marines run into trouble when they expect it. If the series is true to life, fine. Maybe what I’m complaining about is that the source material isn’t very exciting. I’m also proving the adage (with which I disagree) that anti-war films can’t be entertaining; otherwise, they glorify war. “Generation Kill” really wants it both ways. Each element is, again, calculated--to be pro- or anti-war. Any seeming complexity is only a byproduct of the whiplash of jumping between the two poles.

The fifth and some of the fourth seasons of “The Wire” leave me similarly cold. The creators are so confident in their rhythm and didactic themes that the proceedings have the whiff of formula. What the audience least expects is what will probably happen.

(“The Sopranos” was always good at taking into account what would happen in any other movie or show, the exact opposite, what the cultish fans thought would happen, and then not doing any of those things. Of course, the famous series-ender comes to mind as the most perfect example of this.)


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