Posted July 1st, 2008 by paul.
Category: General/Random | Leave a Comment »
I saw WALL-E last weekend with my wife, and we had a really good time. The movie was fun, and really worth seeing. I have to admit that when I first saw EVE, I leaned over to my wife and said, “She’s a Mac, and he’s a PC” which led to my graphic, above.
What I liked
Pixar is amazing. The animation in this movie is simply stunning. I was very impressed by the lighting, the reflections, and the texture that almost made you forget you were watching an animated movie. The story is driven by action, not by dialog. In fact, there is precious little dialog, especially for the first 30 minutes or so. This means the story must show, rather than tell, which generally makes for more powerful filmmaking anyway.
Since there is so little dialog, the sound effects and score end up being a lot more important, and they don’t disappoint. In fact, I thought they were phenomenal. I fully expect WALL-E to be nominated for some major awards in this category.
WALL-E is a very likable little robot, and the romance story between him and EVE is cute but maybe a tad cliché: the backwards guy falls for the sophisticated, classy girl who is uninterested until he saves her by sacrificing himself in some way, and she falls in love with him. But it was well told and cute. The story while following the traditional arc remained unpredictable, and I kept wondering what would happen next and how the story would resolve.
What I disliked
In general, I love Pixar/Disney movies. I love the underlying stories that make the characters real and lovable. The character development is usually at the root of the story. In WALL-E, however, there isn’t much character development. The characters pretty much remain flat without much motivation. As my father-in-law pointed out, there isn’t much to WALL-E’s character arc; in fact, it’s pretty flat.
I decided that what brings me back to a movie is the story line, and after I saw how the story would be resolved, I’m not sure WALL-E has what it takes to bring me back to a story over and over again. I’m not in it for the action, I’m in it for the characters, and I’m not sure that WALL-E’s characters were strong enough to bring me back for more.
I am willing to give it a second go, however, so maybe I’ll find that WALL-E is charming enough to make me re-watch it for other reasons than character development. We’ll have to see about that one.
Conclusion
I really liked this movie. I thought it was well worth the time and money investment. It is a film that people of all ages will enjoy. I give it four and a half stars. You really need to see this one–at least once, maybe more.
And let me know if you thought the same think about EVE reminding you of a sleek MacBook Air, or some other Mac product… I thought it was bang-it-in-your-face obvious.
I saw WALL-E last weekend with my wife, and we had a really good time. The movie was fun, and really worth seeing. I have to admit that when I first saw EVE, I leaned over to my wife and said, “She’s a Mac, and he’s a PC” which led to my graphic, above.
What I liked
Pixar is amazing. The animation in this movie is simply stunning. I was very impressed by the lighting, the reflections, and the texture that almost made you forget you were watching an animated movie. The story is driven by action, not by dialog. In fact, there is precious little dialog, especially for the first 30 minutes or so. This means the story must show, rather than tell, which generally makes for more powerful filmmaking anyway.
Since there is so little dialog, the sound effects and score end up being a lot more important, and they don’t disappoint. In fact, I thought they were phenomenal. I fully expect WALL-E to be nominated for some major awards in this category.
WALL-E is a very likable little robot, and the romance story between him and EVE is cute but maybe a tad cliché: the backwards guy falls for the sophisticated, classy girl who is uninterested until he saves her by sacrificing himself in some way, and she falls in love with him. But it was well told and cute. The story while following the traditional arc remained unpredictable, and I kept wondering what would happen next and how the story would resolve.
What I disliked
In general, I love Pixar/Disney movies. I love the underlying stories that make the characters real and lovable. The character development is usually at the root of the story. In WALL-E, however, there isn’t much character development. The characters pretty much remain flat without much motivation. As my father-in-law pointed out, there isn’t much to WALL-E’s character arc; in fact, it’s pretty flat.
I decided that what brings me back to a movie is the story line, and after I saw how the story would be resolved, I’m not sure WALL-E has what it takes to bring me back to a story over and over again. I’m not in it for the action, I’m in it for the characters, and I’m not sure that WALL-E’s characters were strong enough to bring me back for more.
I am willing to give it a second go, however, so maybe I’ll find that WALL-E is charming enough to make me re-watch it for other reasons than character development. We’ll have to see about that one.
Conclusion
I really liked this movie. I thought it was well worth the time and money investment. It is a film that people of all ages will enjoy. I give it four and a half stars. You really need to see this one–at least once, maybe more.
And let me know if you thought the same think about EVE reminding you of a sleek MacBook Air, or some other Mac product… I thought it was bang-it-in-your-face obvious.
