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Culture War Roundup for the week of July 10, 2023

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One of my favorite action films is Ronin, not only because Sean Bean's character's death is very real but not physical or because it has an absolutly bonkers car chase, but also leaves me wondering is this a straight take on:

old bear male figure coming out of retirement for one last score/mission/whatever

Or a subversion where the bear was never really retired at all.

not only because Sean Bean's character's death is very real but not physical or because it has an absolutly bonkers car chase,

I absolutely loved one of the car chase scenes in that film which IIRC involved them driving full speed against traffic in a tunnel, and what really sold the scene for me was how actually scared the actors looked in the car during the scene. There was none of the suave Bond-style confidence of navigating death-defying stunts with nonchalant ease, these characters looked like they were barely holding on not to freak out given the sheer danger of what the characters in-universe were doing.