Consider some of the big box offices pictures now on cable television rotation:
"League of Extraordinary Gentleman" (2003)
"Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows" (2011)
"Wonder Woman" (2017)
"King's Man" (2021)
All four of these movies share the same major plot point: a villainous individual or the leader of a group with ties to arms and munitions manufacturers is seeking to plunge the world into a global conflict (or to prolong such a conflict) for substantial profits!
Yes, World War I ("The Great War") was the result of greedy individuals looking to engaging in war profiteering!
Perhaps a re-release of Richard Attenborough's "Oh, What a Lovely War!" is overdue.
Sean Connery's distaste for "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" was said to be a factor in his retirement as an actor.
Both "League" and "Sherlock Holmes" have the same bad guy (Professor Moriarty).
Historical accuracy is minimal in these big budget films. Danny Huston as "General Ludendorff" in "Wonder Woman" is not even close to the actual figure. "King's Man" trifles with the audience by having the same actor play King George V, Kaiser Wilhelm II, and Tsar Nicholas II. The idea is that all three monarchs were cousins after all. The silliness is that the manipulators helped launch a war because the cousins disliked each other as children. Problem is that George V was not the heir apparent until he was 37 years of age. He also was not an erudite individual. He could barely sign his own name and was practically illiterate despite being a member of the royal family.
Film Noir classics seem like Shakespearean tragedies compared to this juvenile trash.
Dan
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