So yesterday I went to go see Big Hero Six. And it was awesome. In fact, this is probably the best animated superhero movie since The Incredibles. Weve had stuff like Megamind and Monsters v. Aliens that are in that kind of vein, but those films werent all that good. I wont say this surpassed the Incredibles because its frankly impossible, but as I was watching it, it did give me the same kind of feeling. One thing I really love about this movie is that the story is actually a revenge plot. Have we ever seen that from Disney? I dont think so. Of course, being a Disney movie they dont go full on Kill Bill with it and have our hero actually enact his revenge, its more a lesson on dealing with life as it comes your way, the good and the bad. And thats a great message, one we need more of. Ironic that it comes from a company whos mostly known for wishing upon a star and dreams coming true, but whatever. Ill take it over the copy/paste Rudolf the Rednose Reindeer plot of most animated films. The characters are pretty likable. The hero (named Hiro, of all things) is both charismatic and flawed (in the good way). If I wanted to get nitpicky (and I do) Id say maybe hes a little like Hiccup from How to train your Dragon. Not quite as awkward and whiny, but its a similar kind of personally they give him. Sort of the kid whos smart and creative, but also kind of sarcastic. It might just be our culture in general though. Andrew Garfields Peter Parker is that way too. Back in the 90s there was an image of teen boys as all wearing backwards hats, skateboarding, and using expressions like rad and tubular. So maybe what Im describing is our times equivalent of that. I dont know. The side characters are fine. The character of Fred, a kind of laid back surfer guy, was actually really funny. He couldve easily been the Jar Jar Binks of this movie. The others are fine, not great, but they do their jobs well enough. Thats a good thing though. Usually the hero is the boring one (Harry Potter, Neo) and everyone else youre interested in. This is more like Star Wars. You like the other characters, but youre rooting for Luke, its his story. The relationship between Hiro and Betamax is actually really touching. Without spoiling it, theres a scene at the end that actually made me feel feelings. Not quite as good as Groots death, but it was in that same ballpark. Theres a kind of twist with the villain. I wont give it away, and I do like how they did it. That said though, because you dont know the guy is the villain until late in the movie, you have to play catch up in your mind as to his motivation. It wasnt a huge problem, but it didnt feel as threatening as maybe it could. But it works okay. The visuals were spectacular. Again, best since the Incredibles. And there are a lot of little nods to nostalgia in this movie. Theres a flying scene straight out of Starfox, and theres a portal that is literally a Stargate. So that was fun. This movie took me back to stuff like Jak and Daxter and even Ocarina of Time in a way. Back when games were fun. So yeah, lots of great comedy, great, action, great character, I give it an A-. That villain did bring it down a little, but otherwise, phenomenal.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 14:50:38 +0000
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