Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” Video: Review Revue
After endless teasers and an insane amount of hype, Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” video finally premiered last night (May 17) during the 2015 Billboard Music Awards.
In our brief assessment of the visual, editor Carl Williott stated: “In fact, the weeks of lead-up with the faux movie posters had us thinking it would be some blown-out cinematic adventure — but instead it was just a loose montage of expensive-looking action vignettes.”
But how do other music industry critics feel about the “Bad Blood” video? Read what they had to say down below!
:: The Washington Post found a deeper meaning to the video: “But beneath the sleek action-movie video production values, Swift sends a rather chilling underlying message about power in Hollywood: In case you didn’t know it before, she truly has become of the most powerful women in show business. So you shouldn’t even bother to go up against her. Because you will lose.”
:: MTV called it a “masterpiece”: “Everything was insane, from Taylor’s dozens of costume and hair color changes — she was a redhead! — to all of these ladies wielding huge machine guns and dynamite. Was fighting “the man” and then a dark-haired gal a subtle dig at Katy Perry, who the song is rumored to be about? Maybe, maybe not, but let’s put any gossip aside and just focus on how awesome the video is.”
:: Slate was also a fan: “Along the way, they pay homage to countless films. Besides the video’s Robocoppremise, there’s its Sin City aesthetic, its nod to Tron’s light cycles, and its Kill Bill-like fight in the snow—not to mention its many neo-noir flourishes, the most enjoyable of which is Dunham’s “Lucky Fiori” toking on a cigar. Also of note: Lamar, er, “Welvin Da Great,” contributes two verses to the track, lending even more exposure to one of music’s great cross-genre friendships.”
:: While Esquire had this to say: “But now that we’ve seen Bad Blood, the music video for Swift’s Kendrick Lamar-backed single, we’re thinking there’s room for a katana-wielding, gun-toting, stiletto-stomping, ‘splosion-splodin’ female action movie that indulges in fantasies from both sides of the gender line.”
:: Here are The Daily Beast’s thoughts: “Directed by Joseph Kahn, who helmed Swift’s recent ‘Blank Space’ video as well as other out-there classics like Britney Spears’ ‘Toxic,’ it’s a Frank Miller-tinged send-up of virtually every sci-fi film in recent memory, from The Matrix to The Hunger Games, that sees Swift and all her real-life friends band together Avengers-style to deliver a collective suck it to Perry.”
:: Lastly, TIME wrapped up with this thinkpiece: “But the video was not, really, an ensemble piece; it was all about Swift and, in particular, her newfound ability to reinvent herself. While it is not Swift’s best music video, it is the first that indicates Swift may be able to reinvent herself at the rapid pace contemporary pop demands.”
Did you enjoy Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” video? Sound off in the comments below!
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