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Ensign Kirk lavishes praise upon IRON GIANT
Here is a brief... but stunning review of IRON GIANT. It seems that the people that have seen this film... well... it seems they tend to have religious experiences... You know those film experiences that make you go back to the theater, plop another tape in, buy a laserdisc or DVD player. The ones where you buy a soundtrack, the making of book, magazines for interview pieces, mark the calendar for the director commentary edition with the behind the scenes 30 min docu... Ya know... it's scary to me, the sort of anticipation I have for this film. I've talked to people that have seen STAR WARS EPISODE ONE and I've spoken to people that have seen IRON GIANT. And I've talked to both types in person with a dead in the eye mano to mano manner. The folks that have seen STAR WARS are filled with glee because they are so happy that it is what it is supposed to be... a fantastic film. But the IRON GIANT people... well... They act as though they have beheld the burning bush, like their necks have been drilled after walking on the otherside of the sand dune. They are not only passionate about the movie, they have gone Elmer Gantry on my ass. They speak with fire, gesturing and getting all emotional.
Now I have an unsubstantiated explanation for this, and I think it's that the folks that have seen STAR WARS EPISODE ONE know that they don't have to convince me to see the film. They know I'm expecting some sort of trancedental OHMYGOD experience that evolves me from the one-celled blob that I am to some sort of amphibian and all they are doing is affirming that, Yes, that is what is going to happen. BUT the IRON GIANT observers... they're excited and fervant and driven by another animal all together. I believe they have seen a Classic film. A movie that deeply effected their every pore. BUT they fear that the movie will be lost in the wind by a Warner Brothers hierchy that won't say... put the trailer with MATRIX, but will put it on THE KING AND I. That it's owned by a company that's treating it like a cartoon and not a GREAT film. And these witnesses of IRON GIANT are afraid... afraid that folks like you won't be convinced to have their religious experience because you'll be so caught up in seeing STAR WARS the 49th time. Well... for me, I'm sold, I so want to see this film though. If the movie is what is being communicated to me, and believe me Moriarty has gone beyond possessed by the experience he's had with this movie, then I want that experience. I love movies that make me want to not only see them again, but to find people out on the street and drag them to see the movie. A film that feels like your personal discovery. But then... spreads until it is no longer a discovery, but a communal joint memory that becomes a shorthand for life. Where you can say 5 words or hum a bar of music, or move just so, and those that know... know what you are doing. Rumor has it... this is one of those. God I hope so.
I just had one of the greatest film experiences ever! This afternoon I
had the pleasure to view a close to compelet print of IRON GIANT and can
safely say that, if warner Brothers markets it right, it will be their
highest grossing film ever. The film not only restored my faith in the
movie business (which I work in) but showed me the true potential of
animation; it is not to clone Disney fairy tales, but rather to tell
great, heart wrenching, inspirational and excting as hell stories such
as IRON GIANT. The humor, the characters (I thought the little boy was
alive, and breahig) the script and the animation, along with one of the
greatest final five minutes in film history, puts IRON GIANT in the same
category as STAR WARS, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, CASABLANCA, GONE WITH
THE WIND, E.T., and BEN-HUR, as entertainment masterpieces that shall
live on forever. The irony is that, I bet Warner Brothers does not know
what it has on its hands.
The irony in my case is that, I got to see IRON GIANT by default. A
friend of mine had invited me to see a near compelte print of Disney's
TARZAN (the same they showd at SHOW WEST) and only after we finished
viewing TARZAN (a positive review to come soon), he suggested that we
watch Warner's latest attempt a animation. As you might anticipate, I
was not to thrilled, but life's best pleasures have a way of catching
you by surprise. To put it simply, IRON GIANT is why we all go to the
movies. Do yourself a favor Harry, if you have not seen it already, see
it and believe in miracles.
Regards,
Kirk
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I have never been a fan of Warner Brother's Animation. Mask of the Phantasm is the best thing they've put out so far. Their animation always looks so cheap and the writing is always so terrible. But I have faith in Iron Giant. It has been officially put on my list of movies to see.
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From all of the over the top praise this has gotten, this has turned into one of my top-five-to-see-this-year. I love a good story, it doesn't matter if its live-action, animated, a combination of the two, CGI, paper-mache', whatever: it doesn't matter as long as it tells a good story. I have always been a lover of sci-fi, ever since I saw that star destroyer roll over my field of vision as a three-year-old and I watched, mesmerized, as the spaceship descended on Wyoming from my seat between my parents on the tailgate of my dad's old Chevy 4x4. But the things that make both of these creations classic is the story, without it, it's just another Wing Commander. My preferred genre is sci-fi, but I would rather watch Ulee's Gold for the 12th time than be forced to endure Wing Commander again. But I'm getting off the point. No one is saying anything about the visuals of Iron Giant, they keep going on about what a great story it is, and that's what gives me reason to believe that this is gonna be great. I just hope it comes to my backwater system which is reknowned to only catering to the mass market, forgoing worthwhile smaller films for the "I Know What You Did the Summer before the Summer before Last" irk and anything with Pauly Shore in it.
PS don't knock the animated Batman direct-to-video stuff. It beats the hell out of the live action multi-million dollar productions by a long shot. Which of course, isn't saying much, but I digress... -
Let me rattle off a few good animated things warner has done. Batman, which is quite frankely the best animated thing on tv today, and the Animaniacs, who never fail to crack me up. My brain is now stumped, but I'm sure there are others, and I'll mention them when I think of them.
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Hi! I'm new to the world of Iron Giant, can I get a quick plot line? No spoilers please!
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I certainly hope Iron Giant will be what it is hyped to be. I just want to leave seeing I.G., feeling as if I saw an intelligent animated feature, rather than a dumb-minded, one-dimensionally written, obnoxious lyric, Disney feature. Secret of NIMH took itself seriously and had a sense of mood, when most animated features these days seem to imitate each other in goofiness.
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I am really looking forward to this, just based on the reaction of the lucky few that have seen it. This, and The Blair Witch Project are receiving great word of mouth, and that always gets my attention, because people who post here love movies, and I value their opinion. If anyone is interested, I received an e-mail from director Guillermo Del Toro (Cronos, Mimic) about his future projects - DOMU:A Child's Dream (a terrific graphic novel by Katsushiro Otomo, creator of AKIRA and this work is better) and HELLBOY. Also some info about a live-action GHOST IN THE SHELL movie. E-mail me if you want me to forward it to you. If this ain't for real, then I've lost all sense of perception. This feels real to me.
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I *will* see Iron Giant when it comes to theatres. The last time I saw Harry & co. put so much faith in a film prior to it's release (Star Wars aside) was a tiny little film everyone in my neck of the woods was joking about and NOT planning to see: Titanic ("we all know how it ends: the boat sinks"). Thanks to Harry's positive posts my spouse and I saw that on opening day. Iron Giant? Well, now we have a 14-month-old to plan for...but I'm sure once I know an opening date I'll start looking for a babysitter! And if it's as good as I hear, I'll be planning to make sure we get a DVD of it when available, so my son can enjoy it when he's old enough. Thanks as always, to all the folks who contribute to AICN and tell us what to see and what to avoid. I thought much of the latter recently when I popped in a tape of SPEED and thought about the sequel...which I've never seen (thanks again, Harry!) . Uni.
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...that they don't get a last minute attack of cold feet and decide that it needs a few snappy/sappy musical numbers 'to bring in the kids/families'. Remember what happened to the Thief and the Cobbler (possibly one of the most heartbreaking botch-ups to happen in animation). My head says "don't get your hopes up" because we have been here before, but I so much want this to be good - and if good, to make money just to show the studios that it CAN be done.
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