Well, what can you say? It's a VERY modern animation. Computer generated (Of course), has a downtrodden hero who is trained to kill bulls but truly wants to be a musician, whereas his best friend, the egotistical soldier, is loved by everyone for saving the town repeatedly but is a bit of a jerk. There's a girl the two of them are fighting for... But like with most recent animated efforts this is NO 'damsel in distress'... She can swordfight, do Kung Fu and she has OPINIONS OF HER OWN.
The movie is rather too determined to show us how 'enlightened' she is, and she comes across as being a composite of politically correct ideals of how a studio thinks a woman should be depicted, rather than an interesting character in her own right. The two men have an intriguing love/hate relationship during their rivalry for the hand of the lady, but as individuals there is also something VERY familiar about their personalities.
They do feel like amalgamations of traits stolen from other cartoon protagonists in the past... Aladdin, Puss In Boots, Hercules... The list goes on. Maybe I've seen too many of this genre to ever be surprised again. Or, perhaps the movie borrows too liberally from it's sources to the extent that the feeling of deja vu is paramount. Perhaps a bit of both...
There is also a HUGE supporting cast of characters... Some comical, others threatening, a few plonked in for no good reason at all. My favourite were the two gods, who you can tell are passionately in love with each other... Even through all their feuding. Some dramatic moments are effective, others made me want to gag. Let's call it a 50/50 split.
The animation is brilliant, especially the scenes set in The Land Of The Remembered which is an oasis of colour and activity. The design of everyone looks pretty odd at first glance, but you soon get used to it and the makers should be praised for their uniqueness and variety. Overall, not the strongest CGI film I've seen of late, as I had major misgivings with the hackneyed plot, derivative characters and lack of humour. But for all that, it IS fun and just about worth the 90 minute investment. Overall: 6/10
The movie is rather too determined to show us how 'enlightened' she is, and she comes across as being a composite of politically correct ideals of how a studio thinks a woman should be depicted, rather than an interesting character in her own right. The two men have an intriguing love/hate relationship during their rivalry for the hand of the lady, but as individuals there is also something VERY familiar about their personalities.
They do feel like amalgamations of traits stolen from other cartoon protagonists in the past... Aladdin, Puss In Boots, Hercules... The list goes on. Maybe I've seen too many of this genre to ever be surprised again. Or, perhaps the movie borrows too liberally from it's sources to the extent that the feeling of deja vu is paramount. Perhaps a bit of both...
There is also a HUGE supporting cast of characters... Some comical, others threatening, a few plonked in for no good reason at all. My favourite were the two gods, who you can tell are passionately in love with each other... Even through all their feuding. Some dramatic moments are effective, others made me want to gag. Let's call it a 50/50 split.
The animation is brilliant, especially the scenes set in The Land Of The Remembered which is an oasis of colour and activity. The design of everyone looks pretty odd at first glance, but you soon get used to it and the makers should be praised for their uniqueness and variety. Overall, not the strongest CGI film I've seen of late, as I had major misgivings with the hackneyed plot, derivative characters and lack of humour. But for all that, it IS fun and just about worth the 90 minute investment. Overall: 6/10