Escape to the Movies: Rango

[JeanLuc761]

Well, just got back from seeing Rango and I gotta say, I was blown away. Top-notch acting and CGI (this is as good as Avatar, folks), backed by a thoroughly entertaining and witty storyline. Though it may walk like one, it's definitely not a kids movie. Most of the jokes will fly right over the heads of the younger teens and pre-teens, but adults will get a hearty laugh.

The character design is outstanding and beautifully animated, and the whole movie has a relentless energy. It's not quite on the level of Pixar's best, but that's a hard mark to reach in the first place. It's easily the best non-Pixar animated movie I've seen in quite some time, however.

 

[EBHughsThe1st]

Well, Bob, I have to disagree. Even though your final verdict was never that clear to me. I thought it was pretty good, and some of the sweeping action scenes were so much fun I forgot anything I might have not liked. And the story, in my opinion, went well with the visuals. As did the jokes. But that's just me.

 

[beema]

And that's why Pixar still wins and sets themselves apart from other animated feature films -- excellent writing.

 

[Antidrall]

Ugh. I regret going to see Drive Angry. The 3D was only put in for the very sparse action scenes, and while the 3D was good, It still annoys me when I see something that looks very good, but the it gets thrown offscreen. This was one of those movies where Nic got up in the morning, flipped a coin and "Well, I guess it's going to be one of those non-acting movies for me." The female lead (While she wasn't a horrid actor) still seemed like she wasn't all that interested in what was going on. It felt like it was trying to be tongue and cheek, but didn't know where the hell a cheek is. Oh, and Bob? about the sex shootout. Clive Owen did it way better, and not in an abusive amount of Slo-mo.

 

[Gunnyboy]

And that's why Pixar still wins and sets themselves apart from other animated feature films -- excellent writing.

Yeah, the writer of Rango only was Oscar nominated twice, and wrote other great movies.

I'll just assume you are going by Bob's review, and you haven't seen the film.

 

[rickthetrick]

The last time I saw Nick Cage fighting hell's minions with a magic shotgun, I nearly gouged my eyes out. I will not subject myself to that again thank you very much.

 

[MintyNinja]

Thanks Bob. I've now watched Drive Angry and I have to say I enjoyed the hell out of it. William Fichtner is hilarious (I have a dark sense of humor) and Nic is perfect for the role he plays. I recommend it to those who enjoy action movies.

 

[Marmooset]

And... interest drops at 2:55.
Although MovieBob's becoming sort of a reliable reverse barometer for films. Sort of The Escapist's Armond White.
I consider Rango to have gotten the green light.

 

[Nfritzappa]

So basically,
Pixar shouldn't be worried about Dreamworks (not like they were in the 1st place),
they should be worried about ILM from now on?

 

[beema]

And that's why Pixar still wins and sets themselves apart from other animated feature films -- excellent writing.

Yeah, the writer of Rango only was Oscar nominated twice, and wrote other great movies.

I'll just assume you are going by Bob's review, and you haven't seen the film.

You are correct, I have not seen it yet. I guess it's unfair of me to post a comment like that in context of discussing Rango. But I do find it to be true of nearly all animated feature-films. I think I would have enjoyed How To Train Your Dragon more had it been written by the same people who wrote UP! for instance.

Side note: Why do I always picture Movie Bob as looking like Andrew Zimmern from Bizarre Foods?

 

[angel85]

I had always made a joke that Johnny Depp was a chameleon because he played so many different rolls, so when this movie came out and I found out he actually WAS playing a chameleon I laughed...that's kind of meta.

 

[Swaki]

Just saw it with my brother, it is easily the most beautiful movie i have ever seen, especially when it just said "fuck it" and got all dream sequence for no reason, but damn the movie was a let down, all its attempts at comedy fell flat, except from those 4 annoying people that sat behind my brother and i, but they laughed even louder at a commercial where a carrot got hit in the groin, and the story was rather poorly told and unfocused, i will still say that its worth seeing just for the amazing visuals, oh and since i saw it with my kid brother we saw the Danish sub and damn are some of the voice actors a pain in the ass to listen to.

on a side note i also recently saw the king's speech which took a long time getting here, and i'm sad to say that i agree with you one hundred percent on that one.

 

[Raioken18]

Ummm... Here in Australia we aren't getting Drive Angry till... around mid May.
Don't get me wrong I'm happy I get to go see it now, just pointing out that even if your review had come out months later that it still as a worldwide medium have been able to entice audiences to go see it.

Also if a movie is worth seeing, usually anyone who talks to their friends online has a connection and will hear about almost everything around the world, even if it is a little delayed.
Like friends of friends live in America and usually go see movies reguardless, they tell our friends and they go see it, then they tell us and we go see it!

Anyway back to the topic, I still want to go see Rango... even from bob's bleak outlook it still sounded interesting.

 

[ObsessiveSketch]

I may be forced to sit through Rango on the big screen because I adore all forms of animation and 3d art. Mix them together in a movie that's "prettier than Pixar"? I may have to buy earplugs, but I'm betting it'll be worth it.

Piranha 3D just isn't my kind of movie. Never been a fan of slashers.

Hey Bob, just in case you read the comments, any thought on Nicholas Cage's performance in Drive Angry being a down/upside? It sounds like a nice popcorny kind of ride, but most of Cage's recent work, in my opinion, is bad enough to turn me off of a movie I'd probably otherwise enjoy.(National Treasure was his last film I really enjoyed, although I'll admit I've committed the sin of NOT seeing Kickass)

Also, while the two-part review was a nice bonus, I was disappointed that there were no opinions on how the Oscars played out. I know you did a prediction video, but I was looking forward to a reaction video, or a column maybe? Idk, maybe I'm just going through MovieBob withdrawal and I NEED MY FIX, MAAAAN.

 

[rsvp42]

I liked Rango. It wasn't the most amazing or compelling animated film I've seen, but it was good for what it was.

The only thing that had me scratching my head was the world they were in. I can accept a talking animal western, complete with a little town and internally consistent logic, but that kind of goes out the window here because it's a set in what is supposedly the real world. We see humans and roads and cars and cities at different points in the film, which (at least for me) calls into question the logic of this little talking animal town. And lizards with hair.

So I had a good impression of the film overall, but it took me a little longer than it should have to come to grips with how this world worked and how much of my disbelief I was meant to suspend.

 

[Dr. Pepper Unlimited]

so, Dive Angry is good?


what the hell?

My thoughts exactly.

I'm a little disappointed about Rango, though. It looks fairly interesting from the movie trailer, so it's a bit of a let down that it didn't live up to my expectations. The animation is gorgeous though!

 

[Riff Moonraker]

I will have to disagree with his critique about Rango. I thought the movie was phenomenal. My family and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

[traineesword]

Drive Angry still sounds like utter shit. I've never really been able to take Nicholas Cage seriously. The only thing he's ever technically been a part of that i liked was this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PJddmfesaA