Spoiler alert — if you haven’t seen X-Men III, you may want to skip this review. There are no spoilers in the Cars review.
As I mentioned earlier, Heidi is currently away for two weeks in Ireland. I’ve been left to my own devices, which has included a lot of random housework and programming projects. For fun yesterday, I decided to do something Heidi has been trying to get me to try: I went to go see a movie by myself. No one else was around, and Heidi has suggested trying it. I did, but not content just to try it once, I decided to turn this into a double feature. I ended up seeing Cars followed by X-Men III: The Last Stand.
Cars
Cars was a really fun film. Though not at the level of the Toy Story films or A Bug’s Life, it was entertaining and fun. As you would expect, there were some great characters, fun gags, and, above all, phenomenal animation.
The animation was by far the star of the show. It seems every film that Pixar rolls out features some advancement in animation technology. I remember watching Monsters, Inc. and just staring in amazement at Sulley’s fur. The Incredibles was a disappointment because I couldn’t tell what the advancement was (I’m assuming there was one). With Cars, well… what can you do with cars to advance animation? They’re metal, after all, and far simpler objects, visually, than people or skin or fur. I was expecting another Incredibles. I was wrong.
True, the cars weren’t that special, but the roads, the lighting, and the rugged, Western terrain were spectacular. Now, you’re going to see lots of road and you’re going to think, “That’s not so special.” Just wait until the scene where Lightning and Sally go for a drive. These scenes make me want to move out west, they look that good. The light is the most amazing part of these scenes, the colors and the way light looks as it filters through trees is just right. It’s a jaw dropping visual.
The usual breadth of characters is there, including cameos by racing legend Mario Andretti and a bevy of NASCAR stars past and present. The Car Talk guys make an appearance as well. Don’t forget to stay through the credits. This movie is vintage Pixar, though perhaps a notch below the rest of the films.
I really enjoyed this movie, if you can’t tell. There’s just a lot to like about it and very little to not like. It’s not as clever as some of the other Pixar films, but it’s still smart and entertaining. By the way, you don’t need to be a racing fan or a car guy to get the jokes.
X-Men III: The Last Stand
X-Men III, on the other hand, was a letdown. The second X-Men movie is one of my favorite Marvel movies. To say that I had high expectations is probably understating it. I really was looking forward to seeing how Jean Grey came back and to the final battle between Magneto and Xavier’s armies.
Not having read the comics before, I was surprised by the change of Jean Grey into the Phoenix. The whole subplot there of her dueling selves made little sense. In fact, it was explored so little in the actual movie but so central to the overall story line, that it became an anchor holding down the whole movie. A full third of the movie is the quest to get Jean, to save Jean, to kill Jean. No explanation of Jean, though… why did she suddenly lose all the blocks that Xavier put in place? I guess I don’t really need character development (it is an action flick after all), but her character is completely wooden in this film. If it wasn’t for the big sequence at the end, the film could’ve been made entirely without her character. It wouldn’t have changed the movie at all. That’s terrible when you spend so much time around that character.
Some of the action sequences also didn’t make a ton of sense. How come more of those stupid darts weren’t being shot during the final battle? If Magneto is moving the bridge with magnetism, how come the cars didn’t move? Yes, I know, suspension of disbelief. The darts, though, are a big deal to me. Why not just start shooting the moment they show up on the bridge? And once you shoot them, how come these people don’t keep fighting? Think about it… Mystique’s mutant abilities are shapeshifting. Why can’t she continue to fight like she did before she lost her powers?
Anyway, like I said, I was expecting a lot more from this movie and it disappointed on nearly every front. The only memorable thing was that there was the arrival of Ellen Page as Kitty Pride (eventually Shadowcat). This is a far more interesting character than Anna Paquin’s Rogue, though the director managed to make this character uninteresting, as well. They’re both Canadian, by the way… is that a coincidence? Or related to the fact that this film is shot in BC?
I would say to wait until DVD for X-Men III, especially if you have a halfway decent home theater setup. You’re not missing much and, if you don’t know the comic mythos, you’ll probably end up as lost as I was. I second Eric’s comments, though. Stay to the end of the credits. You’ll know that this isn’t the last X-Men movie.
My Ratings
Other Reviews
Cars:
X-Men III:
I know many of you may not have Salon accounts, but I really like Stephanie Zacharek’s reviews. I don’t always agree with her, but in this case, her review of X3 is nearly 100% in line with how I felt about the movie.
Please note: I’m writing here for myself, not as an employee of Disney. These are my opinions, not those of the company. Thanks.
