

TITAN A.E.

Review by John Beachem

* * * 1/2

Directed by: Don Bluth, Gary Goldman
Written by: Randall McCormick, Hans Bauer

It's the 31st century, and mankind has no home. The aliens, known as the 
Drej, destroyed the earth because they believed mankind was becoming a 
massive threat to their existence. Before the earth was destroyed, some of 
the population managed to escape and form colonies on ships out in space. 
Cale (Matt Damon) is one such person, working out a miserable existence and 
wandering about the stars without a home. The difference is that Cale's 
father created a device called the Titan, which is said to be mankind's last 
hope. He hid it from the Drej before they destroyed the earth and implanted 
a map showing where to find it in Cale's hand. Captain Korso (Bill Pullman) 
has been searching for Cale for 15 years so he could find the Titan and give 
humans a fighting chance. Cale joins with Korso's crew, which includes the 
lovely Akima (Drew Barrymore), the bizarre but intelligent Gune (John 
Leguizamo), the wise cracking Preed (Nathan Lane), and the kangaroo like 
weapons officer, Stith (Janeane Garofalo). The six search desperately for 
the Titan, but the Drej are right on their tails.

Back in 1981 there was an unusual animated film called "Heavy Metal", based 
on a series of semi-adult magazines. "Heavy Metal" was actually 
groundbreaking at the time because of two factors: One, it was clearly made 
for adults due to the graphic violence and sexual content; and two, it 
didn't follow one specific storyline, but contained several short stories 
which were interconnected. If "Titan A.E." had been released back in 1981, 
it might have been hailed as groundbreaking and developed a cult following. 
The animation style is very similar to "Heavy Metal", and the story is 
complex enough that only teens and adults are going to understand exactly 
what's going on. Unfortunately, being released in 2000 has guaranteed the 
movie a short run in theaters. The animation in "Titan A.E." is nice, but 
nothing spectacular; the storyline may be complicated, but it's loaded with 
every cliche in the book; and the 3-D animation is nothing we haven't seen 
before. So why the three and a half stars, you ask? Because despite all 
these faults the film is just so darn enjoyable and amusing that you can't 
help but have a good time watching it.

Most of the voice casting in "Titan A.E." is rather unusual. The character 
of Cale seems to have been made with Matt Damon ("Good Will Hunting") in 
mind, so he can't help but do a fairly good job. Drew Barrymore, as the 
obviously Asian Akima, is one of the most unusual choices, but she actually 
does a decent enough job. The weak links are Bill Pullman ("Lake Placid") 
and Janeane Garofalo ("Mystery Men"). Pullman has always seemed too whiny 
and annoying to me, and he's playing the rough world weary Captain Korso 
here? I don't think so. Janeane Garofalo, usually a talented comic actress, 
doesn't add anything to the character of Stith, but I'm not sure this is 
entirely her fault since the character is so underdeveloped. The other two 
casting bits are a bit more interesting. Nathan Lane ("Mouse Hunt") and John 
Leguizamo ("Spawn") are given the two most unusual characters in the movie, 
and they handle them in very different ways. Preed looks like a hairy 
version of Jar Jar Binks, a stuttering goof who can't do anything right. 
Lane plays him in exact opposite fashion, as a conniving, sneaky character 
who thinks he's a lot smarter than he actually is. Leguizamo's character of 
Gune is not the kind of character you would expect in a movie aimed at kids. 
His insane ramblings will only confuse youngsters, but they sure made me 
laugh out loud. Here's an example of one of his best lines: "I made this 
last night in my sleep. I'm not sure just what it does, but it has a button 
on it which I'm eager to press, but I'm afraid of what might happen if I 
do."

Obviously if you're going to see "Titan A.E." it's because you like either 
animated movies, sci-fi movies, or the rare combination of the two. The sad 
fact is that this movie fails at being any of these. If you want really nice 
animation you'd be best off going to see a Disney movie. If you want sci-fi, 
you'll want something original like "The Matrix" rather than something 
saddled with this cliche ridden mess of a plot. "Titan A.E." actually 
succeeds when it throws things at us which we'd never expect. An example of 
a great scene was one where the group tries to sneak past a guard at a door 
by pretending to be slave traders. The guard pretends to be fooled and then 
laughs and points out that Korso doesn't walk like a slave, Preed should 
have threatened him rather than bribed him, and they're all obviously 
wearing bed sheets as disguises. Preed gives the film's best line here: "An 
intelligent guard, that was unexpected." If the movie had been full of more 
scenes like that one it may have been something great. Instead we get every 
cliche from reluctant hero has change of heart when seeing the plight of his 
people, to turncoat is saved by hero and subsequently changes sides again. 
Still, "Titan A.E." is fun, with an interesting if out of place '80s 
soundtrack and a hysterical ending. I give it three and a half out of five 
stars and a recommendation to wait for video since it won't take long to get 
there.

Any past movies you want me to review? Send to: 
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Past reviews can be found at: http://www.dependentfilms.net, 
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http://us.imdb.com/ReviewsBy?John+Beachem

* * * * * - One of the best movies of the year.
* * * * - Great flick, try and catch this one.
* * * - Okay movie, hits and misses.
* * - Pretty bad, see it at your own risk.
* - See this one only if you enjoy pain.
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