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A
VISUAL EXPLOSION...
Written
by Dean
Kish
Edited
by Thomas
Chau
Cast:
Matt Damon (Cale), Drew Barrymore (Akima), Bill Pullman
(Korso), Nathan Lane (Preed), Tone Loc (Tek), Jim Breuer
(The Cook)
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Premise:
A thousand years from now, Earth is destroyed by
an attacking race of aliens known as the Drej. Cale,
a human teenager, has a map given to him by his
father which will lead him to the Titan, a starship
which contains the last survivors of the planet,
and can lead them to a new Earth. However, the Drej
are in hot pursuit, and want Cale very much dead...
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Overall
Rating:
Rated PG
for
fantasy violence and brief language
"Titan
AE" (or Titan After Earth) chronicles the journey
of a young hero named Cale (voiced by Matt Damon) as
he is caught in the struggle between the last of humanity
and the evil energy beings known only as the Drej. Cale
seems to be the key to winning the struggle as he meets
fellow earthlings Corso (Bill Pullman) and Akima (Drew
Barrymore). Hidden within Cale’s ring and hand
is a map that will lead the last of humanity to its
savior, a top secret project known as Titan. The Titan
project was hidden after the annihilation of Earth and
built by Cale’s father. Can the last remaining
humans fight off their annihilation and survive to flourish
once more?
As
I first walked in to watch Titan AE, I was afraid that
there would be a problem with melding the 3-D animation
(as seen in "Toy Story") with 2-D animation
(as seen in most Disney animated films). What I found
was the effect drew me in more. It was amazing how the
2-D animation brought alive the characters and the 3-D
animation encompassed the world around them including
spaceships and backgrounds. It truly is a marvel to
see.
Another
amazing site to see is the different worlds and aliens
the animators have dreamed up for this film. Winged
creatures who live on a planet full of "hydrogen
trees", the "ice-rings", and even the
mostly alien crew that befriends Cale. The imagination
really ran rampant in those departments.
It
really is a shame that kind of imagination and originality
never really found its way into the story. A reluctant
boy tries to save his race from an evil presence as
he tries to unlock his father’s past. Befriended
by a motley crew of misfits he sets off to find his
destiny. Now that doesn’t sound familiar. Putting
aside the obvious comparison, Titan’s story reminded
me also of a couple other animated projects. The projects
being the great animated series "Invasion America"
and the short lived animated series "Pirates of
Dark Water". If you have seen these then you probably
know what I mean. And if you haven’t I recommend
them highly.
The
look and visuals are the best part of Titan. Other parts
that bugged me are when the film seemed to switch from
animated movie to animated rock video. I could barely
understand the lyrics or the connection the song had
to that part of the film. These musical montages really
messed up the whole experience for me. A huge mangled
rock song would play and as soon as the chorus would
come there would be a laser blast or swooshing of a
spaceship disrupting the song and its effect.
As
I close this review I ask you as the audience one question.
Do animated films need Hollywood stars as the voices?
In Titan, I barely recognized any of the stars.
(3.5
of 5) So Says the Soothsayer
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(C)
2000 Fox. All Rights Reserved.
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