Subject: Review: Titan A.E. (2000)

From: "Shay Casey" <[email-masked]>
Date: 13 Jul 2000 04:49:56 GMT

** out of ****

Year: 2000. Starring the voices of Matt Damon, Drew Barrymore, Bill 
Pullman, Nathan Lane, Janeane Garofalo, John Leguizamo, Tone Loc, Jim 
Breuer, Alex D. Linz, Ron Perlman. Story by Hans Bauer and Randall 
McCormick. Screenplay by Ben Edlund, John August, and Joss Whedon. 
Directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. Rated PG.

"Titan A.E." is a frustrating movie. You watch it, and you get the idea 
that it's trying really, really hard to be a great film, a modern 
classic. But then you come up with an unshakable feeling that the movie 
just isn't working, and no matter how many stops it pulls out, you just 
can't shake that feeling. That's what happened to me while watching 
"Titan A.E." It's an ambitious film, but it's nowhere close to 
greatness. And the more I think about it, the more its failures stand 
out.

The film takes place roughly a thousand years in the future, where an 
evil race made of pure energy called the Drej has destroyed Earth. 
Humans now exist as an "orphan" species, drifting from outpost to 
outpost without finding any real home. Cale (voice of Alex D. Linz) was 
a young boy when Earth was destroyed, and his father was one of the 
principal officials in charge of evacuating the planet. But Cale's 
father disappeared after Earth's destruction, never to be heard from 
again. Now a cynical survivor (and now voiced by Matt Damon), Cale 
stumbles upon a ship with a partially human crew at a space dock. He's 
startled to find that the captain of the ship, gruff Commander Korso 
(Bill Pullman), has actually been looking for him. Korso, a friend of 
Cale's father, reveals that Cale actually holds the key to the humans' 
last hope at finding a new home: His father left him a 
genetically-encoded map pinpointing the whereabouts of the Titan, a 
planet-sized space station hidden somewhere in outer space. 
Unfortunately, the Drej are interested in finding the Titan as well, and 
they are hunting Cale down in order to pry the information from him. Not 
allowed much of a choice after the Drej attack his current residence, 
Cale agrees to go with Korso.

The story sounds fine, like a pretty good opportunity for an exciting 
space adventure. It's derivative, sure, but most movies of this kind 
are, and "Titan A.E." can hardly be faulted for cribbing ideas when the 
films it's cribbing from ("Star Wars," "Star Trek") would have to plead 
guilty to the same charge. But that doesn't let it off the hook for 
getting its premise all wrong. "Star Wars" took place in a consistent, 
expansive universe; you always felt that what made it to the screen was 
only a small fraction of what was floating around inside George Lucas' 
head. "Titan A.E." presents no such depth, because the writers haven't 
paid much attention to the details of their own plot. For example, it's 
established that the Drej want to destroy the human race, but we never 
find out why they want to do that. What threat do the humans pose to 
them? Who knows? Supporting characters are introduced without any reason 
given for them to be there. How did Commander Korso put together such a 
diverse crew? Who knows? Korso remarks that he's been looking for Cale 
"for many years," so he can find the Titan, for which he's also been 
searching "for many years." A single person is easier to find in the 
vast expanse of space than a planet-sized spaceship? Why not just look 
for the Titan itself? Who knows?

The script fails at proper characterization, too. The heroes in a space 
opera don't have to be deep, but they should at least be likeable. 
"Titan A.E." fails on both counts. The apparent good guys are only good 
in the sense that they don't wish anyone else any specific harm. Cale 
may be blond and fresh-faced, but he's so bland, and so self-pitying, 
it's hard to really root for him. Japanese space-punk Akima (Drew 
Barrymore) serves as Cale's love interest, and she's not very 
interesting either. Nor is her character consistent: Sometimes she's 
tough, sometimes she's helpless, depending on what the rote story 
demands. Korso comes off as equally subject to the whims of the script. 
His motivations change back and forth without much conviction; by the 
end, you're wondering if this guy believes in anything at all. It 
doesn't help that the big-name cast turns in mostly uninspiring voice 
performances. Damon, Barrymore, Pullman, and Janeane Garofalo sound 
bored. Nathan Lane and John Leguizamo (as the ostensibly "colorful" 
sidekicks) are at least enthusiastic, but still unfocused. Most of the 
actors' dialogue is horribly concocted: The "funny" lines induce 
cringing, the serious ones occasional giggling.

"Titan A.E." does contain some breathtaking imagery. Visuals, not 
surprisingly, are the film's saving grace. Two action set-pieces, one 
during the Earth's destruction and another in a field of ice crystals, 
are about as exciting as anything you're going to see this year. But 
they're oases in a desert, because "Titan A.E." doesn't make these or 
any other scenes feel necessary. A plot-driven film's narrative ought to 
be a fast-paced, naturally flowing progression to a satisfying climax, 
but "Titan A.E." feels more like a series of individual scenes slammed 
together in chronological order. It doesn't move.

What "Titan A.E." forgets about making a fun space adventure is that the 
adventure is supposed to be *fun*. Almost every plot point is treated 
with such grim portentousness that any and all vitality is sucked right 
out of the production. Obviously, a film of this nature can't goof its 
way through the story, and some things need to be treated seriously 
(like the Force, for example). But there also needs to be a sense of 
giddy enthusiasm, an indication that the filmmakers were having as much 
fun making their movie as they expect the audience to have watching it. 
This film gives no such indication. Instead of being a "Star Wars"-like 
joyous romp, "Titan A.E." is a somber march towards a predictable 
conclusion. This is not the stuff of a modern classic.

-reviewed by Shay Casey

For more reviews, go to http://www.geocities.com/sycasey/movies.html