

TITAN A.E.
RATING: 7/10 --> Good movie

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PLOT:
Set in the year 3028, many years after the planet Earth has been blown to
bits by an alien race named the Drej, a young boy is discovered to hold the
secret map of the Titan machine inside of his hand. The machine holds the
power to unleash another planet for the few surviving humans still roaming
around in space, and the opportunity to re-ignite their evolution.

CRITIQUE:
A visual parade of colors, animation and the darkest corners of the
universe, set the pace for an okay story featuring some not so interesting
characters and some really cool-looking aliens. One of the things that I
like best about movies is how they can so easily transport you into another
realm of life, taking you away from your daily problems, making you forget
where you are, and showing you things you'd never dreamt of ever seeing
before. Like many other sci-fi films before it, this movie manages to take
us beyond our own constricted little world and show us the supposed beauty
and darkness of the galaxy floating above around us. But unlike many of its
live-action predecessors, this film manages to truly create a vision of
another place that I've honestly never experienced before. The beautiful
orange-colored balls floating above the waters of one planet, the wondrous
lights, sounds and waves caressing the infinite space of another, and the
awesome spectacle of the Ice Rings of Tigrin. Wow. Just beautiful to see.

I would watch this movie all over again, even without sound for that matter.
In fact, one of the main problems that I did have with this movie was its
characters, all of whom just seemed a little too bland for my taste. Not
sure if it was the voices of Damon and Barrymore that just didn't click for
me, or if it was the way that the characters were written, very dry and
lifeless, but none of the featured players managed to capture my imagination
as much as the visuals did. I was also taken aback by the juxtaposition of
the amazing "outside" visuals of space, the planets, the ships, the
wonderful colors, and the cartoon looking TV character animation of the
"inside" visuals. Seemed like an odd and somewhat distracting combination.
The story was serviceable enough, with a little bit of action sprayed
throughout, and I definitely loved the soundtrack...an animation movie with
a rock 'n roll touch? Give me more, dammit! Overall, I would recommend this
film to anyone who loves their visuals, who wants to see a different kind of
animation movie, and certainly to all the pot smokers out there, who should
have no problem trippin' all over this film's massive colorful sponge of
delight. Of course, if a tantalizing tale, complete originality or strength
of characters are what you look for in a film, then this puppy might not be
the best thing for you.

Review Date: June 18, 2000
Directors: Don Bluth and Gary Goldman
Writers: Ben Edlund, John August and Joss Whedon
Producers: Don Bluth, Gary Goldman and David Kirschner
Actors: Matt Damon as Cale (voice)
Drew Barrymore as Akima (voice)
Bill Pullman as Korso (voice)
Genre: Animation
Year of Release: 2000
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(c) 2000 Berge Garabedian