by Martin D. Goodkin

Created on: July 04, 2008   Last Updated: September 22, 2008

The animation of Wall-E is dazzling and spectacular but, unfortunately, endless. It is almost like a Will Smith summer movie or Indiana Jones or Mission Impossible-one jaw dropping 'action' scene after another-most illogical or incomprehensible. Granted the time is 700 years from now and all human life lives on another planet.

The film is about human consumption, waste and destroying the planet they live on only to move to another planet to be fat, lazy and waited on 24/7 by robots.

There is a 'love' story but like a lot of the film illogical and with many flaws. The story meanders all over the place many times straying from what it is trying to say.

Wall-E is too strikingly similar to ET only made of metal and spare parts. His love interest is EVE-now that's subtle, isn't it?-looks like an egg with green/blueish eyes. An all the human beings look like the hero from The Incredibles when Dad was out of shape. There is a whole to do about a plant that shows earth is inhabitable again and, yet, when the heroine eats she shuts down.

Of course like all action pictures tgis has a couple of villians: one human and one not. Frank Willard is the human villian and does his usual compitant job. Allo other voices, including Signourny Weaver, are indistinguishable, which in most animated films are a good thing.

As I said the animation is dazzling and spectacular but way too much time is spent on them-even when not needed-and interferes with the story and at times makes it incomprehensible. What was/is a sweet love story gets lost with/in all the technology though, sucker I am, it did get a tear or two out of me near the end.

I know it made a load of many last week and will probably be one of the highest grossing movies of the year but at a July 4th matinee there were maybe 15 people in the theatre. One couple of adults walked out in the middle as did a single woman not to mention Ray who went with me wanted to leave also. Two kids, about 7 or 8 years old, very loudly told their mother they were bored and wanted to leave and they did.

I, being a die hard movie fan, stayed to the end and was glad I did as the ending credits and art work.

Do I recommend this movie? Yes, for the animation which should be seen on a large screen but, no, if you have a lot of expectations as it won't live up to them.

Looks like the big movie this weekend is Hancock-was playing on two screens in this theatre and both showing were sold out.

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