Sunday, April 20, 2014

War Of The Worlds - Goliath


The Neo Noir look of 1914 New York City - a place where tri-planes fly through the canyons of the city - is fantastic to look at. Nothing like a little victory over the Martians in 1899 to improve the transportation and military capabilities of humanity.

TEDDY ROOSEVELT as the Secretary of War? Fantastic! He is a good leader and role model in any parallel universe.



Each character is a stereotype but the voice acting is good and multinational.

I enjoyed the story and found it a fun sequel to HG Wells' War of the Worlds. The Victorian setting combined with a Steampunk sensibility creates a fresh environment for storytelling. This was a Malaysian feature and strongly influenced by both Western and Asian animation. I can't imagine how it would look in 3D. Maybe the mix of old school and modern animation technology looks more connected on the 3D screen. In 2D there is a clear separation.




Nicoli Tesla was the one who learned how to exploit the Martian technology? Fantastic choice again with the use of real life history and historical figures to ground the story.

I enjoyed how WWI still happened as it did with the assassination of the Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand. Only our heroes refuse to join the conflict and instead combine to defend humanity against the Martian attack - just like it would have happened in real life. They could make an entire series based on this concept and I would watch it.
 
Weaponized airships? Yes please.

 
 
The air battle between the Martian spaceships and the upgraded bi and tri-planes is a thrilling piece of animation. Of course Baron Von Richthofan has to be involved. What is a good WWI movie without the Red Baron on our side?
 
 


3 comments:

Timothy S. Brannan said...

looks fun as hell!

Erik Johnson Illustrator said...

I saw part of this the other day. I was going to recommend it but wanted to see the whole thing before passing it along to see if it was any good. Clearly I hadn't gotten to the Teddy Roosevelt part yet as that would have made it a no-brainer. Now I'll have to finish it!

Ian said...

It's the cast of Highlander: The Series, save for the tool Adam Baldwin.