Movie Review #1 - The Iron Giant (1999)
A Movie Review by Carter Rutledge for:
This is the story of a nine-year-old boy named Hogarth Hughes who makes friends with an innocent giant robot that came from outer space. Meanwhile, a paranoid U.S. Government agent named Kent Mansley arrives in town, determined to destroy the giant at all costs. It's up to Hogarth to protect him by keeping him at Dean McCoppin's place in the junkyard.
MPAA Rating: PG
The Good: The acting, the story, the pacing, the animation and pretty much everything.
The Bad: A couple of uneccicary humor moments and historical inaccuracies.
Why I Watched it:
So there is this website called Lego Ideas, and on that website you post something you made out of LEGO bricks. Users then vote, and if your project reaches 10,000 votes, it has a chance at becoming a real LEGO set. A friend and I were looking at popular projects on that site, and one was called The Iron Giant. We had never heard of it, but the post claimed it is one of the most loved animated movies ever.
Fast-forward about a year, and the same friend and I were scrolling through the infinite expanse of Netflix for an hour. And behold, The Iron Giant was on Netflix! Remembering the LEGO post, we immediately started it.
My Thoughts (no penny needed):
Now, keep in mind my expectations for this film... they were low to say the least. This movie came to me right after Trolls, The Emoji Movie, and The Boss Baby all came out. Animation has been at a low for a couple of years now (besides Pixar), so my mind just carried over those expectations to a film from 1999.
I have never been happier to be wrong. I loved almost every second of this movie, from the cynical Kent Mansley to the child-like Iron Giant. The suburb acting, the lovable characters, a relatable villain and an amazing sense of pacing. The choice for an older style of animation helps this movie, because it is so familiar. All of your favorites are in 2d animation, so they have brought back those memories by that.
If you have seen this movie I want you to freeze. Now think about every single scene in this movie...
Which scene does not move the story forward? I would like to say not one, but there is this one scene, my least-favorite part of the movie, which almost misses this achievement.
This moment comes when Hogarth and Dean go down to the lake with the Giant, fun scene right? Yes, I still quote Hogarth when he says, "This one is for professionals only!" My problem with this scene comes when Dean is washed onto the street, and a raccoon floats by. (Why a raccoon?)
A farmer comes by, surprised to see Dean, sopping wet in the middle of the road. They exchange funny dialogue, and the farmer drives away. Why was this scene needed? It added nothing to the story and wasn't all that funny in the first place. *sigh* Maybe its just me...
The Characters:
Hogarth: Hogarth Hugues, our lead role, is amazing. The acting is spot-on, and he is so... fresh! Think about almost every animated lead ever, a stereotype emerges, doesn't it? Hogarth pushes as far away from that as I thought was possible. His personality, humor, and wit really push this move higher than it could have with a stereotyped role.
The Iron Giant: Our titular character, The Giant, is extremely well written and animated. I cannot say much for Vin Diesel's voice acting because of his lack of lines, but that is what makes him special. Who wants an Iron Giant with more tricks up his sleeves than you can count? Me!
Dean: We first meet Dean at the diner, and right off the bat I am reminded of Ian Malcom, Jeff Goldblum's character in Jurassic Park. He is funny, smart, and down-right cool. Acting here is spot-on as well and he brings a lot to the story. I literally want to be as cool as Dean right now.
Kent Mansley: Slightly clumsy, hilarious, and relatable, Kent is just amazing in this film. I love his character so much! He is intimidating to Hogarth, and laughable to Dean. His motives work better than most other villains and if you think about it, he only does one thing to get him arrested, by pressing the button at the end. I really enjoy that type of character.
My Favorite Character: Dean
Final Ratings:
Note: Ratings go up to 10, 1 being the worst.
Villain Scale: 9
Hero Scale: 9.0
Directing: 10
Acting: 9.5
Visual Effects/Animation: 10
Cinematography: 8.5
The Movie as a Whole: 9.5
Thanks for reading my first review, you awesome person!
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