Titan A.E.
3/4
Starring (voices): Matt Damon, Drew Barrymore, Bill Pullman, Nathan Lane, Janeane Garafalo, John Leguizamo, Ron Perlman
Rated PG for Action Violence, Mild Sensuality and Brief Language
I remember sitting in the theaters watching the first trailer for "Titan A.E." It intoned about the last moments of Earth and showed a giant spaceship skyrocketing away from the destroyed planet in hopes of salvation. It was shocking and made me think that in this movie, anything was possible.
As is often the case, the trailer is better than the movie. But unlike,say, "The Good Son," the movie itself isn't half bad. It has its problems, sure, but for a 90 minute animated adventure, it contains enough thrills to be worth checking out.
The year is 3028 A.D. A brilliant scientist (Perlman) has done something impossible. What he has accomplished is so astounding that he compares it to the discovery of fire or electricity. But this discovery carries a heavy price. An alien race called the Drej finds this discovery so terrifying that they destroy the Earth and make it a mission to hunt down every last human. They have failed, and the experiment gets away.
Fifteen years later, the scientist's son Cale (Damon) is living an unremarkable life as a salvager when he is tracked down by a roguish sort by the name of Korso (Pullman). Korso believes that Cale is the key to saving the human race and is determined to help the kid find his father's ship. But they're being tailed by the Drej, who will do anything to stop them.
"Titan A.E." is not a bad movie. It's harmless, contains some solid thrills and some cool images. But the script is thin and not well thought out, and the mixing of hand drawn and computer animation frequently calls attention to itself in the worst ways. It's never convincing and at times downright ugly. Don Bluth and Gary Goldman should have stuck with one or the other.
The voice acting is fine, although the bland dialogue limits what cast members like Matt Damon, Drew Barrymore and the rest can do. They aren't bad, but it's so weak that no one is memorable. Bill Pullman makes an impression as the Han Solo wannabe, I guess. But there's no denying that the heroes we are supposed to get behind are lacking in the personality department. The Drej are more interesting.
Don Bluth and his team created some animated films in the 80's and early 90's that, while not matching up to Disney's output, were iconic in their own way. The best was their first feature, "The Secret of NIMH" which was a daring and intelligent animated film (not to mention the fact that it included one of the most terrifying characters in the history of the medium). The worst was "The Pebble and the Penguin," a film so bad that not even the fact that Bluth got his name removed from the film absolves him for creating it. "Titan A.E." was an attempt at reinventing himself for a new generation. It didn't work. The movie bombed at the box office and it killed his career. Isn't it interesting how mediocrity fares worse than low quality?
This is a movie that will undoubtedly appeal more towards kids than adults. Or nostalgia junkies. It's slight and entertaining, but there are definitely other better animated movies than this, if that's what you're looking for.
Starring (voices): Matt Damon, Drew Barrymore, Bill Pullman, Nathan Lane, Janeane Garafalo, John Leguizamo, Ron Perlman
Rated PG for Action Violence, Mild Sensuality and Brief Language
I remember sitting in the theaters watching the first trailer for "Titan A.E." It intoned about the last moments of Earth and showed a giant spaceship skyrocketing away from the destroyed planet in hopes of salvation. It was shocking and made me think that in this movie, anything was possible.
As is often the case, the trailer is better than the movie. But unlike,say, "The Good Son," the movie itself isn't half bad. It has its problems, sure, but for a 90 minute animated adventure, it contains enough thrills to be worth checking out.
The year is 3028 A.D. A brilliant scientist (Perlman) has done something impossible. What he has accomplished is so astounding that he compares it to the discovery of fire or electricity. But this discovery carries a heavy price. An alien race called the Drej finds this discovery so terrifying that they destroy the Earth and make it a mission to hunt down every last human. They have failed, and the experiment gets away.
Fifteen years later, the scientist's son Cale (Damon) is living an unremarkable life as a salvager when he is tracked down by a roguish sort by the name of Korso (Pullman). Korso believes that Cale is the key to saving the human race and is determined to help the kid find his father's ship. But they're being tailed by the Drej, who will do anything to stop them.
"Titan A.E." is not a bad movie. It's harmless, contains some solid thrills and some cool images. But the script is thin and not well thought out, and the mixing of hand drawn and computer animation frequently calls attention to itself in the worst ways. It's never convincing and at times downright ugly. Don Bluth and Gary Goldman should have stuck with one or the other.
The voice acting is fine, although the bland dialogue limits what cast members like Matt Damon, Drew Barrymore and the rest can do. They aren't bad, but it's so weak that no one is memorable. Bill Pullman makes an impression as the Han Solo wannabe, I guess. But there's no denying that the heroes we are supposed to get behind are lacking in the personality department. The Drej are more interesting.
Don Bluth and his team created some animated films in the 80's and early 90's that, while not matching up to Disney's output, were iconic in their own way. The best was their first feature, "The Secret of NIMH" which was a daring and intelligent animated film (not to mention the fact that it included one of the most terrifying characters in the history of the medium). The worst was "The Pebble and the Penguin," a film so bad that not even the fact that Bluth got his name removed from the film absolves him for creating it. "Titan A.E." was an attempt at reinventing himself for a new generation. It didn't work. The movie bombed at the box office and it killed his career. Isn't it interesting how mediocrity fares worse than low quality?
This is a movie that will undoubtedly appeal more towards kids than adults. Or nostalgia junkies. It's slight and entertaining, but there are definitely other better animated movies than this, if that's what you're looking for.
oi, this is a rotten film. you're off your rocker, mate
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