Squid Game [2021]
-
IMDB: 8.3 RT: 100/87 CV: 6.6
Tried and true, Squid Game was never going to fail. High production value, a twist on something once thought innocent and pure, and social commentary so blunt that affluent local police departments might even start search parties for its victims.
Squid shines when it's subverting your expectations, and I do mean shines. The first episode and a half and then a small (but ultimately meaningless and obvious) twist later on, are brilliant inside their contained universes. Had the show been more interested in telling a different story than the one you expect, Squid could have really been something special. Instead, as the old adage goes. "If you build it, they will come, and every event will be played out exactly how they thought it would if they're even paying half attention." That's because, outside of these few moments, Squid Game is tried, true, and tired. If you've seen or read any of The Hunger Games, you've seen Squid, and if you've seen Battle Royale you've seen rated-R Squid. It's already been done; and it's already been done more succinctly.
I don't want to give the impression that I DIS-liked Squid, just that I don't think it's amazing or deserves fawning over. Shows like Dark have similar or better production value and immensely better writing and shows like Them (even though it falls apart in the end) have significantly better social commentary.
Squid Game has too many plot points that either don't matter, don't go anywhere, or you see coming from miles away... and then don't matter and don't go anywhere. Many of the subplots in the show are either forgotten about the second they're solved or have such silly causes and frustrating solutions that you just don't care.
I wouldn't ask for my time back from Squid Game but, unlike some things I've watched recently, the more I talk about it and the more I think about it; the less I like it.
If you ever wished that Cube and Battle Royale felt a little more like Saw meets teenage angst, Squid might be for you. If you're looking for genuinely meaningful social commentary, clever writing, or deep plot; look elsewhere because, at the end of the day, Squid Game is just The Hunger Games with teens replaced by middle-aged, indigent, and sometimes surly adults. Honestly, it should have just been called, “The Hungrier Games" or "The Hunger Games 2: They Didn't Learn the First Time.”
