Yes, there will still be a need to smash your opponents and exert control, but there’s always an added layer of drama and doing the impossible that makes it so intoxicating.Īny progress made will be paid by the blood of your virtual soldiers, with players having to build up their forces, make the right moves, and capture essential territory that continues to fuel the machine of war. With two single-player campaigns that stand out for their own good reasons, and a multiplayer offering that offers a suite of options, Company of Heroes 3 goes beyond just the typical march towards domination, circa World War II and covers the Italian and North African theatres. It is no surprise, then, that Relic Entertainment and Sega’s Company of Heroes 3 continue in that vein, bringing home yet another resounding victory for the series. But in video games, the idea of war has allowed many impressive interpretations, and in the realm of real-time strategy, the Company of Heroes franchise has consistently been the frontrunner in delivering a realistic rendition of military combat. Blood of Heroes was a fun discovery from one of my favorite years of cinema.In almost any other medium, the topic of war typically conjures up bleak imagery and the accompanying horrors that come with it. While sometimes this film can be literally too dark, the final match is every bit as gripping as Rocky’s. He knows a good scifi story, is what I’m saying, and it lends this movie more credibility than it would’ve deserved otherwise. While Blood of Heroes‘ director David Peoples didn’t helm a lot of films, he is pretty acclaimed for writing classics such as Unforgiven, Blade Runner, Ladyhawke, and 12 Monkeys. For Sallow, it’s trip of redemption, as he used to be a League player who got kicked out for noodling with a woman he shouldn’t have. ![]() This really is Kidda’s tale, a kind of Karate Kid for the end of the world where we see a scrappy underdog rise up in the ranks and prove herself. ![]() When their team’s “Quick” (a fast runner) receives a dire leg injury, Sallow recruits Kidda to take a pretty-good team and make them unstoppable. It’s at one of these villages that the team encounters Kidda (played by Twin Peaks’ Joan Chen), who turns out to be a powerhouse player in her own right. As a fictional sport it’s certainly more interesting than, say, Quidditch. Blood of Heroes treats The Game much like you’d see a regular sports movie do so - including a montage - and I think it’s much better for it. It’s certainly a refreshing change of course from your normal post-apoc film where someone has to go on a quest to find the last can of gasoline or something. And they’re all kind of friends afterward.Ĭonsidering how important sports are to cultures throughout human history, it’s actually not that far-fetched of an idea to imagine what a regressive barbaric league would look like. Also everyone makes their own protective outfits, can wield weapons, and fight to their heart’s content. ![]() If you had to describe this to friends, it’s like Mad Max if everyone in that post-apocalyptic universe stopped to put on barbed wire and play tackle football. Their goal? To make it to the big leagues in the underground Nine Cities and prove that they’ve got what it takes to hang in with the best of the best. They’re an aspiring team for The Game (or “Jugger”), which is sort of like football crossed with medieval combat crossed with a dog’s skull. That’s exactly what Sallow (Rutger Hauer) and his “jugger” crew (which includes a young Vincent D’Onofrio!) do on a daily basis. What would you do for amusement if the world ended and your subscription to Netflix lapsed? Well, you’d probably start up a brutal sports league and go on tour around the wasteland. Justin’s review: If civilization as we know it collapsed and the few survivors regressed into agrarian tribes, perhaps the greatest loss would be the firehose of entertainment from which we drink on a daily basis. ![]() Justin’s rating: I caught the golden snitchy-poo!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |