Unpopular Opinions. You will probably hate me forever now.

Just for fun, here is a list of my Unpopular Opinions.

I don't even know why I am doing this, because I can pretty much guarantee that you will strongly oppose at least one of these opinions. Quite possibly enough to make you never want to read anything else I write ever. Which - as I actually want to publish some books soon, and have you buy them and read them - is something I should be trying to avoid! I can see this ending in disaster. Yay! This is going to be great!


So if Unpopular Opinions were an Olympic event, I would have all the medals.

I can out-Unpopular Opinion anyone.


Come at me.


So, with the recent release of 'Deadpool 2' and 'Avengers: Infinity War' in the cinemas, here are my Superhero-related Unpopular Opinions:


#1 'MYSTERY MEN' IS THE BEST SUPERHERO MOVIE EVER. Look. I know what you're going to say. "It can't be a good movie and have Ben Stiller in it." And usually I'd agree with you. But there are like three movies where he doesn't make you want to rip your eyes out, and this, as well as 'Zoolander' are two of them. Anyway it also had Geoffrey Rush and Janeane Garofalo who are two of my favourite actors. "Ok. Whatever." You say, shaking your head. "But what makes it the best superhero movie?" Get this. Not one member of this mysterious band of superheroes actually have superheroes. Well maybe one does. And that makes these guys and girls one thousand times more relateable and likeable than any actual superhero. Ok. That was an easy one. Brace yourself though, coz shit's going to get real very fast.


#2 I JUST CAN'T BE ARSED WITH SUPERHEROES, HONESTLY. Ok. I bet that got your attention. This is a double pronged one. As I touched on before, I don't find superheroes relateable. Like I don't get how someone can identify with an alien from another planet whose only weakness is Kryptonite. Show of hands, guys. Who here can fly, stop trains, shift the entire orbit/rotation of Planet Earth? "Okay, but how about a human who becomes a superhero?" I could probably relate to an alien better than I could relate to a billionaire, frankly.


But the lack of relatability is only minor. What's more important to me is that sometimes I think that the whole superhero culture is dangerous. We need to be telling kids that they can change the world. They don't have to be super strong aliens or billionaires or get bit my radioactive spiders. They are enough just as they are. When it comes down to it, we are going to need to save ourselves. If we keep waiting for a superhero to do it we're doomed.


So anyone still reading, make yourself a nice cup of tea. Treat yourself to one of those nice biscuits you've got hidden away. Thanks for making it this far. This next one is going to be an easier pill to swallow.


#3 BRENDAN FRASER STOLE JERRY O'CONNELL'S CAREER. Like I can't actually back that up. But Fraser's breakout role was in 'The Mummy' and I will swear 'til my dying day that role should have been O'Connell's. Like I don't even know if O'Connell auditioned. But he would have been perfect in that role, and Fraser is the kind of actor who even looks confused himself how he's still getting parts. You know that general confused and out-of-his-depth look that's basically his trademark? He's not acting. He's confused as to what he's even doing in front of a camera. Anyway, how freaking good was Sliders? That's a TV series they should bring back.


Alright. Let's move to novels now. Do you still have that tea? Best brew another cup before reading further.


#4 HARRY POTTER WAS NOT THAT GREAT. So it took me a long time to actually pick up the book. Ten years? Yeah that's a while. Having said that, I only read Anna Karenina last year too. 140 years since it was published versus ten years since it was published. And despite not reading the books or watching the movies, everyone has known who Potter was and what the story was about pretty much since it came out. So I was like "Young boy-Wizard goes to magic school - I've read this before." And then you hear about other characters and scenes and they bear striking resemblances to characters and scenes you've read in other fantasy novels, and you just get less and less excited about it. So by the time I read it, I'd heard the whole story about how it was rejected seventeen times before it was picked up by a publisher. And when I was reading it, I could see why. But I have to acknowledge that the humour that Rowling brought to the story was really good, genuinely funny English humour.


#5 A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE WAS SO BORING AND PREDICTABLE I COULDN'T FINISH IT. Well I gave up somewhere in the third book. I mean, what more is there to say? When you've read it all before, why would you keep reading? Honestly it felt like more like a homage to the great sci-fi/fantasy literature of the past hundred years than anything else.


Anyone still reading, thankyou. You can, of course, post your feedback in the comments. Tell me why I'm wrong about everything. And remember, your opinions are as valid as my own.


#6 THERE STAR WAS REBELS / RESISTANCE ARE TERRORISTS. Before you start, hear me out. Anyone who does what the Rebels / Resistance do in our world are given the label 'terrorist' and are universally condemned. And if you still don't think Luke Skywalker and your childhood heroes deserve that title, consider the definition of a terrorist act, "an act of violence to achieve a political, religious or ideological aim." The Rebels sure as hell have different political and ideological aims and beliefs to the Empire, hence any acts of violence they are involved in can accurately be defined as acts of terrorism. So the question becomes "is terrorism ever acceptable?" A quick history lesson will show that America has supported terrorism for a long time, I mean those who fought against the English in the American Revolution must also be described as terrorists. Ultimately, it comes down to who is telling the story, doesn't it? We call the American Revolutionaries 'heroes' because they won, and the winners tell the story. If they lost, and the English told the story, would they still be revered as heroes? I don't think so.


So that was fun, wasn't it?  I guess you probably all think I'm a bitter soul who doesn't like anything. But you'd be wrong. For balance, my next piece will be about the books and movies that I just love.