Transformers and Joker 2, or how to do a political movie

A mix movie review and political discussion. With inane rambling, of course.

(Just a disclaimer, I'm not editing this one as heavily as I usually do. Like the alleyway behind Axis and the parking lot of Local Bar, you're going to get it raw. The movie reviews are condensed and missing bits of the plot; go watch Transformers yourself, it is very good. Don't even bother pirating Joker 2, it is not worth your time.)

Dad give me a call a few days ago and asked if I wanted to hang out. He wanted to go grab dinner and a movie, but didn't really know what kind of movie to go see, as nothing that was showing really caught his eye. Being a child of the '90s, I asked Dad if he could sit through the transformers movie. I didn't think he would agree, but he did. We went and got dinner then saw the movie. And it was fantastic, which is not something I say often about transformers movies. While my teenage self could sit through and even enjoy the BayFormers movies, my adult self cannot stand them. The action (while entertaining) is gratuitous and the human characters are insufferable. Not saying that the robot characters are good, but when I go see a movie about giant robots, I want to see a movie about giant robots, not a movie about humans that have to live with giant robots. Hollywood seems to be incapable of humanizing a giant robot, or a giant monster for that matter. Meanwhile Japan has been knocking it out of the park with giant robots for the last 50 years. And they wonder why each new generation of nerds drifts more and more towards the oriental sphere of animation and sci-fi...

Anyway, this time Hollywood didn't fuck it up. Despite casting Chris Hemsworth and Scarlett Johansson, two actors that I cannot stand, they actually did a pretty decent job as Optimus Prime and Elita One respectively. Sure, the faces were a little wonky, the comic relief was a little heavy at times, and some of the dialogue delivery wasn't the best, it was still a good transformers movie. I would go as far to call it a good movie in general. It was so good, that my dad enjoyed it. He enjoyed it a lot! And he's in his sixties! Without spoiling too much of the plot, transformers one is a movie about two working class friends, and their reactions to learning that they are essentially slaves to an autocrat who is not truthful to them. Any transformers fan will have an idea of how the movie ends, with D16 becoming the murderous and evil Megatron, and Orion packs becoming the heroic and good leader of the autobots, Optimus Prime.

They look pretty good! The faces are weird, but I can forgive that. Brian Tyree Henry in aprticular is an excellent Megatron, and I would not mind seeing him return. I’m a little sad that Steve Buscemi didn’t get more lines, he is always a treat to watch and listen to.

It is interesting to see how the movies characterize their previous incarnations, D16 and Orion Pax; it is very different from the comic book I read 20-soemthing years ago. In this version D16 is a rule follower, to the letter. He adores his autocrat government, but in his defense, he has no idea that they are autocrats and lying to him about the reality of the world. When the truth is revealed to him, it breaks his spirit, and were it not for his friend, he would have given up hope and been content with whatever fate had in store for him in this doomed world. He slowly gives in to rage and violence, and becomes a despot himself. Orion Pax on the other hand, is a rule breaker at the start of the film. The first scene of the movie is Orion breaking into what is essentially a government library to learn about what happened to the film's macguffin, and what happened to the previous government. When Orion learns the truth, he is shocked, but not devastated. His healthy skepticism have the current situation allowed him to better process the events and move forward. D16, upon becoming Megatron, immediately uses his power to commit violence and murder, under the guise of "revolution." When my dad saw this transpire on screen, his exact words were "trade one despot for another." Orion however, commits many selfless acts, ultimately with the intent of sparing the autocrat, giving him a fair trial, and perhaps establishing democracy. Ultimately the ending of the movie sets up for a sequel, but the fight between Optimus and Megatron is fantastically satisfying. It is one of the few movies I felt compelled to clap at the end of, an act I usually find superfluous.

Damn, these final forms look FANTASTIC. And the final fight was great. Hopefully Hasbro doesn’t screw up the inevitable sequel or tie-in TV show.

But, what do robots that can turn into cars have to do with politics? For some context, the world events of roughly 2015 to the present have irreversibly poisoned my mind, and the minds of me and my family. We see political propaganda everywhere. I see it in our films, I see it in our books, I see it in the actions of everyone around me. Political motives are present in every decision made by anyone, even whether or not they are aware of it. You might call this autism, or madness, or even straight nonsense. But to me it is a part of daily life. The man who shops at Walmart, owns an AR-15, and drives a shitty mid-2000s Chevy pickup is no fan of Biden. Similarly, a Biden fan would not be caught dead in such a situation. The places you shop, the media you consume, the company you keep... all are indicators of your political beliefs. Politics in America are polarized, and if you aren't on the sectarian bandwagon like everyone else, you're probably a character with strong principals, or a median voter. If you are a median voter, I envy your individualism, but pity your lack of dedication and am disappointed in your flighty nature. It would behoove you to vote for someone who represents you, from a party that represents you, rather than auto-balance the ballot every November because you regreted your previous choice.

My dad is a Democrat. He is a Democrat's Democrat. He sees traces of our illustrious previous president in the film's antagonist, and the film is a clear analogy to him. Megatron's decision to kill Sentinel is the wrong one; just as the assassination attempt on the previous illustrious president is the wrong one. Meanwhile, Optimus sacrifices himself in an attempt to prevent Megatron from summarily executing Sentinel, and is rewarded with the film's macguffin, the Matrix of Leadership, and proceeds to kick Megatron's ass and save the day. Rule of Law prevails, and Optimus is anointed as the leader of the Transformers. My father explained all of this, the comparisons to Trump and events of the Bush-era, to me after the film. Usually when I see films with my dad, I see these kinds of comparisons to politics unwillingly, and he sees them willingly. I am happy to say, I was not thinking about politics during transformers. I could enjoy the story for what it was, and he could enjoy the film as a form of supporting his own line of thinking. It is the perfect political film in that regard.

Joker 2, meanwhile, is the worst movie I have ever had the displeasure of reading a review of. I did not go see it, as I knew there was a good chance of it being garbage, and I was dead on the money. Joker: Folie à Deux is a spiteful character assassination and an insult to fans of the first film, and the titular Batman villain. Arthur Fleck decides he doesn't want to be joker anymore. Harley leaves him because he isn't cool enough for her. He gets arrested and taken back to prison where he is gang raped, and then stabbed to death by a random inmate, who is implied to be the Heath Ledger Joker. A friend of mine claims the director did this on purpose so that he didn't have to make another movie, or because he never wanted to make a sequel in the first place. I don't really believe this; as I have stated earlier, political motives are present in every decision made by anyone, even whether or not they are aware of it. Someone at Hollywood decided that instead of making a good sequel, they should make a movie to spite the people who might sympathize with such a dangerous character. Think back to 2019; how many media companies and powerful people were worried that such a movie might inspire people to commit acts of violence? As per usual, this was overblown fear mongering by the people in our society¹ who hold most of the power. These same people thought that the best way to defeat this potential uprising was to release a sequel five years after the first movie where the main character is raped, humiliated, and murdered for causing trouble in the first place.

An artist’s rendition of the sexual assault, curtosy of an underwater mongolian basket weaving forum. Part of me wonders if Joaquin Phoenix enjoyed filming this scene in particular.

Imagine if Arthur Fleck was a woman; a brutal rape scene like that would rarely make it past the writing phase, and even if it did, it would be almost immediately condemned by any woman's rights organization. Someone hated what Joker symbolized so much that they felt the need to have him sexually assaulted and murdered by his previous incarnation. The politics in this movie are apparent to anyone and everyone, just look at the reviews from those at the premier at the Venice film festival, and compare them to the reviews of average moviegoers and fans. The only people who would give this film a positive review are those that either appreciate (disgusting) arthouse and grindhouse, and the people that wanted to see the Joker suffer for what he represented. At least, that’s my take on it all; I could be wrong. Joker 2 sucks either way, I wouldn’t watch it, simply because it could taint your memory ruin how good the first film is, or ruin the entire franchise.

1. He said the word! He said it!