Never has a knife been so sharpened for a movie

As I have mentioned before, there is an online world of Right-ish movie/culture critics who writhe about how "woke" feminism (and, to a degree, queer promotion) has ruined the Star Wars franchise, the Tolkien franchise, the Marvel franchise, etc.  Prime amongst them is the guy called the Critical Drinker, and I do watch some of his Youtube videos, as well as some of those by Nerdtronic.  

I have to confess that, to a significant degree, they have a point.   (I mean, I posted about the huge female presence in The Last Jedi at the time, and how a major thread in the story was about how stupid and impulsive men are.)    And there is no doubt that Marvel has been working to promote stories with female leads, with increasingly diminished critical and audience returns.  And Disney cartoons now feature gay characters, not that I think that is necessarily a bad thing.   But still, none of this feels organic:  it is just  too obvious.

That said, it's not as if the problems with the Star Wars franchise are just due to this:  I have argued before that the fundamental issue is the lack of a clear and consistent treatment of the Force throughout the series.  And I think it is just not that interesting a universe without some consistency on a fundamental thing like that.   As for Marvel:  it is a mistake to base a meta theme on the multiverse, because it is an idea that can drain away tension in dramatic storytelling - if anything can happen, nothing much matters.

Anyway, a key figure of hate - the key person the Right wing critics attack for this - is producer Kathleen Kennedy.  And as she is behind the latest Indiana Jones movie (Dial of Destiny), they have been slavering about how she is going to ruin it like she's ruined everything else. 

I think it's kind of funny:  the movie has so far been getting mixed reviews from its showing at Cannes - it has 50% on the not always reliable Rottentomatoes - and I think quite a few are putting it below the first three movies but a tad above Crystal Skull (which I think is unfairly demonised.)    If that is the true positioning, the movie is bound to make a squillion dollars regardless of these bearded critics say.  

But boy, have they been pre-emptively promoting the critical and audience downfall of this movie.

They are, just like the woke producers who they hate, being just too obvious that there is no way they are going to give the movie anything like an objective viewing.

And who knows - I may not like it, either.  The ending apparently is divisive, and a bit fantasy-ish, and my biggest concern is that I will read what it is before I get to see it.

I still think the trailer looks quite OK, though...