A Wasted Opportunity ***

I'm a firm believer that animated movies can be, and often are, much better than any live-action film.  The reason being that animation allows the filmmakers to do things that live-action films simply cannot. It is a format that allows the filmmakers imagination to run completely wild because there are absolutely no limitations to what direction their story can take. 

Unfortunately this freedom can often make filmmakers lazy and they can get carried away with the visuals of an animated movie and forget to put in place one crucial ingredient..a well-written and interesting script.

That is exactly what the makers have Titan A.E have done.   There's no doubt that Titan A.E is a spectacularly shot piece of cinema and fans of animation may want to see the film just for its outstanding visuals.  The film combines traditional animation with computer-generated backgrounds wonderfully well and there are times when you are watching the film that you marvel at just how good the film looks.  But eventually the novelty wears off and that is when the bad points of the film become glaringly obvious.

For starters, the plot is a little cliched and would have been far better had it delivered a story a little more original.  I mean how may times can we see a space adventure where a so-called "rebel" attempts to almost single-handedly save the world.  Whether it be animation or live-action we have definitely had our fill of these types of films and most of us are crying out for a film a little "fresher", something that will stimulate our intellect as well as our sight.

And to be quite honest, if I had the choice of seeing a live-action film or a animated film that deals with the same subject, I would definitely choose the former as live-action films are more believable because, well, they're not drawings.   Animated films should take us to places that live-action films cannot, not be a mirror of what we already know.

The voice acting in the film is a mixed bag.  Matt Damon is adequate as our hero Cale but he does not exude the same sort of charisma that he usually does in non-animated films.  The same can be said about Drew Barrymore who is one of the most charming actors when she is on screen but she does not have that same appeal in this film.

Bill Pullman, Nathan Lane, John Leguizamo and Janeane Garofalo all add something to the film with their enthusiastic performances and they nearly make up for the fact that their characters are basically all the same.

It is a criticism that can be applied to the film as a whole as it is merely a animated version of many similar films (Star Wars, Mission to Mars, Battlefield Earth) that have proceeded it.  Still, it is refreshing to see a animated film on the big screen  that is not a comedy or made specifically for children.  Its just a shame that the film's plot does not fully exploit the potential that animation provides to filmmakers.  Instead it just takes us to places that we have been many times before.

- Adam Matthews

.