Rating of
3/4
Read the writing on the Wall-E
kcvidkid - wrote on 07/03/08
When my friends were more eager to see "Wall-E" than "Wanted", the seeds were planted for me to resist its charms. When it earned seemingly unanimous praise from the critics, my seeds experienced a massive growth spurt. And when there was Oscar talk a mere four days into its run, my plant was of "Jack & the Beanstalk" proportions!
With a built-in defense this strong against a movie, it would be impossible to break through completely when I finally saw it. Out of principle, I would not have given it a "perfect" rating. And after pondering it for a day, I think my "3 stars" is fair; I'm going to stick with it. "Wall-E" is by no means flawless, at least in its entirety.
The first "chapter" is amazing. It is simply some of the best filmmaking i've experienced in quite a while. The movie could have continued with no word spoken and I would have remained enthralled. And had the anthromorphic trash robot remained on Earth for the entire movie, I would probably be adding a star. But when he accidentally rockets into space and encounters those pesky humans, the uniqueness became problematic for me.
My biggest problem is silly, I suppose. It's the same problem I've had with Pixar since "Toy Story". The "creatures", whether they be toys or robots, are so incredibly lifelike, that when the humans appear in animated form, I'm immediately removed from the realism that has been created. In "Wall-E", it's actually worse because there are visual references to live-action humans in the beginning. But on the "space ark", the humans are animated. It's like, not only in the future do humans become fat and lazy, they also turn into cartoons!
But the best thing about "Wall-E" is its ultimate faith in human nature. Yes, it begins grimly on a planet uninhabited due to the fallout of corporate greed. But in the future, even when faced with a life of luxury, we would rather work to make things right. Depending on your attitude, you could find it to be a complete fantasy. Or, if you're like me, you could choose to believe that in the end, everything really will turn out all right.
