ANTZ
** 1/2 (out of 4) - an enjoyable movie
Release Date: October 2, 1998 The Voices of: Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Sylvester Stallone, Christopher Walken, Danny Glover, Dan Aykroyd, Anne Bancroft, Jennifer Lopez Directed by: Eric Darnell, Lawrence Guterman Distributed by: DreamWorks Pictures MPAA Rating: PG (mild language, menacing action) URL: http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio/reviews/1998/antz.htm
Over the past two years, DreamWorks SKG has shown a remarkable ability to insert themselves into mainstream film production. They've had a hand in some of the more successful projects of recent memory, including DEEP IMPACT and SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. However, a lot of their films - PRIVATE RYAN as possibly the only exception - have found themselves lacking in drive and inspiration. DreamWorks has yet to come up with defining characteristics as a film studio, and it shows in their latest feature, ANTZ. Both impressive and plain at the same time, ANTZ was an inventive movie that was made without gusto.
The impressiveness comes from the computer-generated images involved. The movie runs ninety minutes in length, and all but forty seconds of this is entirely dependent on computer imaging. The CGIs are remarkably well-crafted, and though they only fall apart in select situations (the brief involvement of a human being), they are a benchmark standard. It will be interesting to see how later-this-year's A BUG'S LIFE compares in scope and execution to the flawlessness of the imaging in ANTZ. Certain aspects of insect life are also flawlessly integrated into the movie as well, and it almost looks real (such as the entire scene on the picnic blanket). The insects are given human characteristics and personalities, but not to the extreme like some of the primitive Disney animations. Everything in ANTZ is well-designed in the technical respect.
The cast behind the eye-candy is impressive as well: Woody Allen does he voice of the lead ant, and is backed by love-interest Sharon Stone, best friend Sylvester Stallone, nemeses Gene Hackman and Christopher Walken, unlikely acquaintance Danny Glover, and colony queen Anne Bancroft. Most of these A-listers lend suitable voice support, and in some instances, it's more enjoyable to hear them talk without watching them. Stallone, for example, gives voice to a comic rendition of himself, and the performance is lively whereas watching Stallone himself would most likely be a dreary affair. Allen is the best overall, however, and his neurosis becomes part of his character, the ant named Z. Z questions his totalitarian society to the point of depression, and Allen reflects this well.
Eventually, Z meets up with colony princess Bala (Stone), and the two hit it off until colony guards break the encounter up. Z convinces his friend Weaver (Stallone) to switch places with him - Z is a worker and Weaver is a soldier - so he can have access to the royal chamber. The secret is blown, then, and in a hasty exit, Z grabs Bala and leaves the anthill. The two make a fantastic journey but return to find that the evil General Mandible (Hackman) has usurped the colony and is preparing to kill all of the workers off. It's in the plot that the movie is bogged down, for it follows a formula of animation so closely that it's easy to predict what's ahead. Granted, a family movie will not contain a complex plot, but there are relatively few twists to make watching it completely worthwhile; the adult humor involved is not enough to pick things up. For the computer imaging and the cast of voices, however, it's still worthwhile, and you may find this one to be more than meets the eye.
-- Craig Roush kinnopio@execpc.com -- Kinnopio's Movie Reviews http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews