FIRST BLOOD

I’ve been trying for a while to convince my brother to watch this with me after previously watching it by myself a while back. Yes, throw your tomatoes now, I’m cheating, big whoop. Before this, my exposure had been limited to Desert Bus For Hope and (for the wrestling fans) a CM Punk “tribute” video, so I at least had an idea that, given a chance, I’d like it. Much to my chagrin, however; after navigating the hoops to watch it online as I had done previously (via, oh let’s call them InterPix. I’m sure that’s not obvious), it had been removed. Well, it had apparently been intended to be see on YouTube and the likes anyway, so no big loss.

Given what I know about the actors, I’m not surprised how well they perform in a musical setting. If I had to complain about anything it’s that the songs felt a little too packed together, but given the nature of the release format I guess some concessions have to be made. There’s enough of Nathan Fillion acting as a smug prick that left me wanting more (which, having the boxset of Castle on hand, I’ll be right), which is a testament of the old adage. I also would’ve liked to see more of Billy’s/Penny’s relationship, even if it was just more awkwardness, but I can see how it might wear thin over time. Out of the characters on display however, I felt a little underwhelmed by Neil Patrick Harris’ performance as the titular Dr. Horrible. Maybe I was expecting more, but he felt a little, empty, if that’s the right word for it. Interestingly, the story’s climax led to a fun discussion over the usage of superpowers in storytelling, specifically how if you do manage to cause pain to someone with invulnerability it very well could be a mentally debilitating experience, but it’s far from a permanent solution. Which is all in good fun.

Overall, I can see why people like this movie (if that’s an accurate term) so much, and I can count myself among those numbers. I also want to set an example for, you know, children and stuff. 4.5/5

Also, the ratings have returned. So there’s that.