Strummer

a great story and a great sequel. a legacy sequel! and un-like some other legacy sequels (and a choice I wasn’t expecting, from this) the protagonist has actually changed in some ways; I was kind of expecting this to be set around satirising the “nothing has changed” thing that films like Dumb and Dumber To will do, but no. Travis is still the same character, but he’s grown from who he was in highschool, adjusted to the modern day, and has learnt from the events of Shredder. So: the first follows Travis and his ambitions to “shred” while in the second we find: he’s not as interested in shredding, has more appreciation for what he’s good at, and now wants nothing more than to “strum” in a duo band with Daphne (which seems more like it’d be a solo act, a kin to an Elton John + Bernie Taupin partnership, before Travis finds that she’s a great singer). They make a far better creative couple, than a romantic one, though that’s stomped on by Daphne considering their work “unfinished” without more people involved. Daphne (a younger seeming girl) has an ambition that more-so resembles Travis’s Shredder self: she has it good, but wants more, to her detriment: breaking her and Travis apart, before they could even release anything. there’s a lot to this, it’s really good character writing. Like Bed: the couple dynamic is well realised and informed There’s what I mentioned, about her picking up the legacy of Travis and exhibiting some of his same flaws. But there’s also Travis moving too far, in the other direction, and stifling their potential: being hesitant on her even playing guitar, herself, under the insecurity that he won’t be needed in bringing her “dead babies” to life. You feel in Travis’s shoes, here. You wonder if Daphne is actually in love — or just using him the way he used the “pedo kid”, in Shredder. There’s a real question as to whether or not they’d have both seen this potential, or if Daphne would've just moved on with new members of the band, and left Travis behind. I think they both made mistakes, in not hearing each other out. They ideally would’ve (first of: left the sex behind them, but second) given the smaller scale stuff a go — put out an album (or “demo”) with just the two of them — and only consider expanding once they had a good foundation. Neither of them think about compromising like that, because both are adamant in not taking either leap of faith, and that ruins them. I spoke with Cody the other night, and he made a point to say (I may be paraphrasing, but) “when you’re unsure about what’ll happen after: that’s when you should create something, and put it out there, because that’s how you know it’s good,” and that point feels right at the centre of this film’s conflict; Maybe that’s why he recommended I watch this one, next — though it has been just generally good: checking his sequels out, soon-after their predecessors, anyhow. I love the final shot of the first film, and loved seeing that re-created, here. That, and the turkey-slice sandwich routine: Member Berries fan service at its peak, Star Wars could never. My parents are vegan, and we’ve done the “processed meat/cheese slices are practically vegan” bit with each other so many times.