May 2009

Well, since I spent a couple of hundred words writing about Mega Shark versus Giant Octopus the other day, I owe UP at least as much “ink”… so here it goes.

My initial reaction was simple: the movie’s a masterpiece. I don’t retract that statement – in fact, the more I reflect upon it I realize that it is not only that, it may be my favorite Pixar film, ever… knocking The Incredibles out of the top slot. It resonates with me on so many levels, I think I will be returning to this movie for many years to come.

After additional viewings, it may even become a member of my Pantheon, movies that are in a group above all others. The Godfather, for example, is in the Pantheon. As is Jaws. It’s THAT GOOD.

(And no, I am not wearing my hyperbole hat when I state all this. The movie is being universally praised by critics, and justifiably so.)

I won’t throw many spoilers out in this review, because the less you know about this film the better. I will say this though: bring your hankies, cause if you aren’t sobbing after the first 10 minutes of the movie is over, you have no soul. If the lights had went up after that sequence and the ushers had shouted “that’s it, show’s over” I would have walked away happy. Thankfully, the rest of the movie lives up to that initial sequence.

There are so many things I want to praise in this film. The writing is fantastic, and the minor plot contrivance required to create a villian in the movie is the only real flaw that the script has. It’s all character-driven, and the plot is completely organic, flowing from who these people are and what they want. And, when you see Carl, the lead wonderfully voiced by Edward Asner (who should be nominated for a best actor Oscar), literally drag his past with him, unable to let it go… it’s makes some decisions and moments in the film incredibly moving and awe-inspiring.

The ideas in the movie are so exceptionally absurd that you just go with them, and there is a couple of dog-related jokes that are sprinkled throughout that, in the hands of less qualified filmmakers, would have come off as cloying “Air Bud” humor. They don’t, and are wonderfully funny they way they are presented and handled (the “dogfight” is my particular favorite).

The visuals are amazing, especially in 3D (which is definitely how you should see it). The score, by Michael Giacchino, is fantastic, and after his great music for Star Trek, he’s now batting .1000 this year. I’m such a fan that after I read he was also doing the music for Land of the Lost, opening next week, I now want to see it for that reason alone.

I have read several comments online complaining about the film’s dark themes and violence (”There’s blood shown on screen! GASP!”) and to those people I say: get over it. Yes, this movie has some unsettling moments. So did Bambi. And Snow White. And Star Wars. If we become so hyper-sensitive to what our children are exposed to, then I fear for our future.

Man, what a summer we have had. Star Trek, which all the pundits had predicted would have a tough job finding an audience, is now the number one movie of the year. Terminator, Wolverine and Angels and Demons have stunk up the joint and under-delivered… and Pixar has, again, produced a piece of near-perfect entertainment with UP that will persevere for years to come. Bravo.

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