I thought I'd throw a quickie review on here, as several of our left coast members are in the gaming community.
First, the movie is deeply flawed in several ways. The script gets bogged down in mystical hooey a bit too often. And, the bad guy is so relentlessly against the good guys' plan that it goes well beyond the relm of common sense. After a while, he is just doing stuff to make the story move ahead, with no regard for how silly it is.
Second, none of the above matters. The movie is visually amazing. While the level of the CG isn't a threat to the Screen Actors Guild, it is clearly the beginning of a new era of movie making. I think people will someday look back on the movie the way they now look at 'Star Wars' as a landmark for special effects. While there have been a couple of really good CG animated movies, until now the genre has always sort of hidden its short commings behind cartoony or silly characters. These guys are the first to have the balls to step up and animate human characters.
The 'aliens' in the movie are beautiful and really creepy at the same time and could not have been produced by any other technique. They will give kids nightmares. There are always things that give away the CG (hair, liquids), but there are also scenes where, just for a second or two, you forget it is not real. The level of detail is astonishing, especially in the more complex settings. Animation has come a hell of a long way since Bugs Bunny wore a dress and acted like a Southern belle.
If you are into CG at all, or just like sci fi, this is a must see. If you have any doubts, see it as a matinee and save a couple of bucks.
First, the movie is deeply flawed in several ways. The script gets bogged down in mystical hooey a bit too often. And, the bad guy is so relentlessly against the good guys' plan that it goes well beyond the relm of common sense. After a while, he is just doing stuff to make the story move ahead, with no regard for how silly it is.
Second, none of the above matters. The movie is visually amazing. While the level of the CG isn't a threat to the Screen Actors Guild, it is clearly the beginning of a new era of movie making. I think people will someday look back on the movie the way they now look at 'Star Wars' as a landmark for special effects. While there have been a couple of really good CG animated movies, until now the genre has always sort of hidden its short commings behind cartoony or silly characters. These guys are the first to have the balls to step up and animate human characters.
The 'aliens' in the movie are beautiful and really creepy at the same time and could not have been produced by any other technique. They will give kids nightmares. There are always things that give away the CG (hair, liquids), but there are also scenes where, just for a second or two, you forget it is not real. The level of detail is astonishing, especially in the more complex settings. Animation has come a hell of a long way since Bugs Bunny wore a dress and acted like a Southern belle.
If you are into CG at all, or just like sci fi, this is a must see. If you have any doubts, see it as a matinee and save a couple of bucks.
