Rating of
3/4
2001: A Space Odyssey goes to Sesame Street.
Drive-In Massacre - wrote on 05/21/11
As corny as it is - character/writing/political message wise. I'm not talking about special fx. I hate when people's view on a movie is diminished when they see special effects, even though those were the BEST THEY COULD DO AT THE TIME AND THEY SHOULD TAKE THEM FOR WHAT THEY ARE! - and the fact that Joan Baez's deeply unfitting and ungodly annoying music is in it, I somehow found this movie very charming and fun.
It's kind of like 2001: A Space Odyssey goes to Sesame Street. It's really, really dated and not in a good way either. It is just so 70's, from the choices of color, (what was with the use of that disgusting orange that seems to pop up everywhere in that decade?)costume, and mentality.
Even with all of these criticisms that I have, I still really like it. Bruce Dern really carries this movie, and a lesser actor would make this movie even more ridiculous. His character is kind of extreme and over-the-top, but he somehow plays it realistically, and empathetically. Definitely original, you almost never see a protagonist murder another person when it's not really in self-defense, especially if they're not considered an anti-hero.
I love the little robots too, even though, within a minute you can tell they're amputees in little plastic boxes, but they're really fun muppet-like characters anyway, and again, Dern really makes the relationship between him and the robots work. Yeah it may be kind of childish, but it's sweet and friendly in all the right ways.
A quiet, entertaining, and small sci-fi movie that's pretty damn enjoyable. If anything, it would be a great kids film, if it wasn't for the really bloody fight scene and the subsequent surgery. Oh well, I'd still show it to my little brother.
P.S. I've read that a lot of people find this movie to be pretty slow, I didn't get that at all. It's a brief and fitting 90 minutes. If it were a little longer, I'd say, yeah it's slow, but, it tries to establish atmosphere and visuals (i.e. 2001) so the quietness and "slowness" makes for a great movie to watch at 3 a.m.
Verdict: B-
