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Robots
1/28/05 - PG-13 - 137m
Ewan McGregor - Rodney Copperbottom
Robin Williams - Fender
Greg Kinnear - Ratchet
Director: Chris Wedge & Carlos Saldanha
Story by: Jim McClain & Ron Mita
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Official
Website
JEF
This was a tough decision for me, because originally I was going to give this movie a red light. I really did not like this movie, and thought it very un-original. But just the other day, it hit me, this was a children’s movie. So because of that I’m reluctantly changing my mind and giving the movie a yellow light.
Storyline: A movie where all the characters are robots, in a city built by robots. The main character is Rodney Copperbottom (Ewan McGregor) and we start the movie off with his uh, “birth” or making. What Rodney’s father can’t give him in material goods (upgrades), he makes up for with an abundance of love and encouragement. Rodney grows up with dreams of becoming an inventor, who works for Mr. Bigweld (Mel Brooks) the sort of corporate president in Robot city. But something has happened to Mr. Bigweld! The city is being run by a corrupt Mr. Ratchet (Greg Kinnear), who is trying to overtake the entire city and push out the old outdated robots. Rodney to the rescue!
My biggest complaint about this movie was that it was an assault on my senses. I was reminded of the movie called “Chicago” that I could only watch about 15 minutes of. Sure, I understand Chicago got rave reviews, but for me it was just too much. The colors, the action, the sound, etc… Just a non-stop whirlwind. Robots was very much like this. At first I was enjoying the ride. The visual effects were amazing! That was the only thing that held my interest, but after a certain point that wears off, and you are left with the story and voice acting to carry you through the rest of the film. The story was just too convoluted and not very smooth for me.
The voice acting was mediocre. I heard an interview with Greg Kinnear, where he said it was strange because the first time he met his co-stars for the movie was at the premier opening. Each actor and actress apparently showed up to the sound studio and read his lines in a solitary confinement. I think it shows in this movie. Why not have them all together in the same room? Especially with a talent like Robin Williams (Fender), who feeds off of his interaction with the audience.
As Lyn pointed out though, and as much as I am a fan of Robin Williams, his act is getting old. He plays the same handful of voice characters (The ghetto guy, the gay guy, the redneck, etc). And his little one liner jokes just weren’t that funny. He’s been doing the same bit, for a good 30 years now.
And yet, with all of the action and non stop dialogue, I suppose that this may appeal to some kids. Perhaps they will enjoy all the eye candy, and non-stop whirlwind of action, slapstick comedy, etc. Perhaps a good helping of some candy bars and sugar soda at the concession stand will enhance this movie with the kiddies.
But me? It was too much. I really liked Ice Age (the same people who did Robots), and was rather disappointed with Robots.
Jef
PS> I’m still trying to figure out if there was an underlying political message for this film. It seemed like it was very pro-corporate, or pro-worker, anti-establishment, but to be honest, I didn’t have time to sit and think about the message while being bombarded with all the jokes, sound and animation.
