Wall-E review
Ugh. Before you get me wrong about this review, I actually do love Pixar. In fact, there was a time when I thought that they were going to change the shitty animated features of today. My opinion has drastically changed.
I had REALLY high hopes for Wall-E. I was in love with the robot's inability to talk. The post-apocalyptic earth was quite appealing to me. It was Bioshock-esque, for you video game players. It had a message, a meaning. Maybe it could've accomplished what I Am Legend failed to do - show the horror and have hope.
Unfortunately, Wall-E falls into the exact same trap as I Am Legend. Like, I Am Legend, the periods where Wall-E is alone shine as the hilight of the film. His other co-stars (EVE especially, which I will get into later) not only steal his spotlight of likability, but make him morbidly annoying. There is a thin line between endearing and annoying and Wall-E dances upon that line.
There's a distinct feeling of "I Am Legend" when the film opens, showing an Earth of piles and piles of garbage. It's almost Aztec, the way things are stacked and makes the film hypnotizing. Whereas I Am Legend showed empty streets, Wall-E shows an over-cluttered landscape. To make things even more ironic, large windmills are shown everywhere - in a futile attempt to save the dust soaked earth.
As Wall-E (A Robot who is tasked with making said pyramids of garbage) makes his way around the ruined city, various ads dominated by a single corporation are shown: BnL (Literally Big and Large). This society has been seized by the Corporation. If I have learned anything from my dear 6-8 teacher, the Corporation is EVIL.
As Wall-E makes his way through the city he finds small contraptions to amuse himself with. Everything that he finds interesting, he stores in his lunchbox, which he carries with him (at the end of the day) to his little jawa cruiser. With his pet coachroach he watches a lone tape of 'Hello Dolly' and the schedule repeats itself as he goes to sleep.
This is the opening of Wall-E and it's fucking epic. Like, the fact that he can't talk adds an appeal that I Am Legend failed to add. It's cute, cuddly and just...well, you HAVE to see it.
Okay, now the film goes downhill. He meets EVE, a slightly violent female robot from the human occupied AXIOM (they're so fat they can't walk anymore. Go them.). Then they fall in wuv. But then she goes back into space (OH NO!) so Wall-E follows her, leaving his pet coachroach behind (The best part of the movie).
That is not to say that the part where he meets EVE isn't as epic as well, the part where he's alone. His blunders to make her fall for him and his ascent to space are both visually orgasmic (yes, I used that word). It's amusing and funny for poor Wall-E.
But then they reach the Axiom, and that's when the movie goes down. Don't get me wrong. It's a GREAT idea. The fact that people have become so bloated and obese from the corporation (ANGRY! HATE THEM!) that they can't even move is genius. Their eyes are always watching TV screens so they don't notice anything in the ship.
The problem lies here: The humans. They're notoriously boring to watch. I mean, they're fat. We accept that. But we can't recognize anything with them. The dialogue they have with each other is grating and (as they are the victims), we grow to dislike them.
Not only this, but EVE starts to become a bit of a bitch toward Wall-E. I mean, there's a point when she's pissed off, but she becomes so bitchy it hurts. Pixar must make us really want to hate it's heroine. Wall-E starts to get on the nerves. There's just too much fluff and not enough bite. And before anyone attacks that statement, their previous feature, the Incredibles and Finding Nemo did that perfectly.
The romance between Wall-E and EVE becomes so forced. You'd want to gouge your eyes out. It hurts a bit. Coupled with thousands of humans cheering him on, this is Dreamworks stuff, not Pixar.
I KNOW Pixar can do better. Hell, their short was the best one they've ever done. The ideas where there, it was just the execution that was sloppy. The ending feels...empty and unfulfilled.
As a pixar film I'd place it 5th. With Toy Story 3 coming out, I can only pray that Pixar realizes their mistake and move forward. The mature theme is good, they just need to work on how to present the ideas.
A 7/10
I had REALLY high hopes for Wall-E. I was in love with the robot's inability to talk. The post-apocalyptic earth was quite appealing to me. It was Bioshock-esque, for you video game players. It had a message, a meaning. Maybe it could've accomplished what I Am Legend failed to do - show the horror and have hope.
Unfortunately, Wall-E falls into the exact same trap as I Am Legend. Like, I Am Legend, the periods where Wall-E is alone shine as the hilight of the film. His other co-stars (EVE especially, which I will get into later) not only steal his spotlight of likability, but make him morbidly annoying. There is a thin line between endearing and annoying and Wall-E dances upon that line.
There's a distinct feeling of "I Am Legend" when the film opens, showing an Earth of piles and piles of garbage. It's almost Aztec, the way things are stacked and makes the film hypnotizing. Whereas I Am Legend showed empty streets, Wall-E shows an over-cluttered landscape. To make things even more ironic, large windmills are shown everywhere - in a futile attempt to save the dust soaked earth.
As Wall-E (A Robot who is tasked with making said pyramids of garbage) makes his way around the ruined city, various ads dominated by a single corporation are shown: BnL (Literally Big and Large). This society has been seized by the Corporation. If I have learned anything from my dear 6-8 teacher, the Corporation is EVIL.
As Wall-E makes his way through the city he finds small contraptions to amuse himself with. Everything that he finds interesting, he stores in his lunchbox, which he carries with him (at the end of the day) to his little jawa cruiser. With his pet coachroach he watches a lone tape of 'Hello Dolly' and the schedule repeats itself as he goes to sleep.
This is the opening of Wall-E and it's fucking epic. Like, the fact that he can't talk adds an appeal that I Am Legend failed to add. It's cute, cuddly and just...well, you HAVE to see it.
Okay, now the film goes downhill. He meets EVE, a slightly violent female robot from the human occupied AXIOM (they're so fat they can't walk anymore. Go them.). Then they fall in wuv. But then she goes back into space (OH NO!) so Wall-E follows her, leaving his pet coachroach behind (The best part of the movie).
That is not to say that the part where he meets EVE isn't as epic as well, the part where he's alone. His blunders to make her fall for him and his ascent to space are both visually orgasmic (yes, I used that word). It's amusing and funny for poor Wall-E.
But then they reach the Axiom, and that's when the movie goes down. Don't get me wrong. It's a GREAT idea. The fact that people have become so bloated and obese from the corporation (ANGRY! HATE THEM!) that they can't even move is genius. Their eyes are always watching TV screens so they don't notice anything in the ship.
The problem lies here: The humans. They're notoriously boring to watch. I mean, they're fat. We accept that. But we can't recognize anything with them. The dialogue they have with each other is grating and (as they are the victims), we grow to dislike them.
Not only this, but EVE starts to become a bit of a bitch toward Wall-E. I mean, there's a point when she's pissed off, but she becomes so bitchy it hurts. Pixar must make us really want to hate it's heroine. Wall-E starts to get on the nerves. There's just too much fluff and not enough bite. And before anyone attacks that statement, their previous feature, the Incredibles and Finding Nemo did that perfectly.
The romance between Wall-E and EVE becomes so forced. You'd want to gouge your eyes out. It hurts a bit. Coupled with thousands of humans cheering him on, this is Dreamworks stuff, not Pixar.
I KNOW Pixar can do better. Hell, their short was the best one they've ever done. The ideas where there, it was just the execution that was sloppy. The ending feels...empty and unfulfilled.
As a pixar film I'd place it 5th. With Toy Story 3 coming out, I can only pray that Pixar realizes their mistake and move forward. The mature theme is good, they just need to work on how to present the ideas.
A 7/10