War of the Worlds: Goliath

Good movie!

Good movie!

Good movie!

Good movie!

Okay, I understand mech fantasy, I respect alien invasion stories, and alternate history is fun and all, but holy-moly is this film's amalgamation of these things a boring, confusing, uninspired meandering mess. I went into this film expecting nothing, and I still feel like I got jipped out of 80 minutes spent watching this thing. My list of questions for this film is extensive and seemingly unending.. Why did all the characters in this movie felt the need to sacrifice themselves in for the most stupid reasons? How come WWI was still a thing at the same time an alien invasion was being monitored and prepared against? Why was the leviathan blimp kicking in laser-technology, one-shot destruction of aliens but the armies of mechs (prominently featured everywhere) were ultimately just alien fodder? Why was the Irish soldier and his brother angry about the British despite the idea that both countries were working together? Why bother with backstories if they go nowhere or having bearing on the characters in the story? Most importantly, why was J Edgar Hoover so dang ripped? It's almost as if the people who made this movie had the idea for some locations that would be cool to visit in an alternate timeline and then simply copy-pasted some characters and aliens into them. Aliens show up at point A B and C, defeat aliens, see someone sacrifice themselves for the greater good, rinse and repeat. Watch out lads, alien invasions A B and C were just "distractions" from the "real" invasion... NEW YORK. In retrospect, I knew something was up when the camera pans in the opening were abrupt, the music tinny and sound effects competing with the dialogue. Particle-system based visual effects are simply plopped in, and add nothing more than just visual noise. Despite obvious attempts at quality by the artists, the pieces of this thing did not fit together. Note the awards on the box mention animation and 3d awards. You can safely ignore them all, yes - some artistic merit is in this film, but outside of that spend your 85 minutes somewhere else, this thing is a confusing mess.

This could have been an interesting adaptation of the classic "War of the Worlds" in not only anime form but also in its incorporation of elements of steam punk, giant robots, and alternate history. In other words, it is definitely not for everyone; but if you enjoy any or all of the above sci-fi troupes then at least you might want to give it a try. The animation is serviceable and the characters not particularly well-drawn. No cutey anime girls or guys here, but the facial expressions are noticeably limited and the movements a bit wooden. The voice-acting is passable if not inspired. Probably this is due to the use of non-Japanese actors who do not have a lot of voice-acting experience. Had the movie made use of more talented actors, this would have greatly improved the final product. Instead, much of the dialogues sound more like people simply reading their lines without much if any emoting. The story itself is loosely based on "War of the Worlds" - yes, there are the Martians and their war machines. But everything else is different. This actually makes for an interesting take on the classic, and had the story been better executed it could have really taken Goliath to the level of perhaps memorable genre-blending anime such as "Ghost in the Shell" or "The Sky Crawlers". Instead, one is left feeling disappointed and wondering what was the point of making this movie. In other words, despite the initial promise of something unique in the blending of different genres, the end result is nothing more than a slightly entertaining but ultimately forgettable version of "War of the Worlds". In the end, nothing about this anime - whether its nod to sci-fi, steam punk, or mecha heritage - brakes any new ground. Final verdict: Maybe worth watching once, but you won't remember why afterwards.

I don't know where this "style" of animation comes from. No, seriously, I don't know. But it seems like a lot of similar stuff was cranked out back in the eighties in shows like "He-Man" or "GI Joe." Every man a steroid-abusing lunk, every woman an astringent big sister. Is that how the world looks to eight-year-olds? I don't know. I do know that what we see here is an alternative Earth where Martian steroid technology was adapted by Nicolai Tesla to enable all men to be gigantic muscle gods. Or something. But the 'roids also cause them to have bizarre behavioral changes--including constant teeth-clenching, weird grimmacing and a propensity to engage in suicidal fights--with each other, with Martians, with inanimate objects. All the actors spit out their lines like they are The Pharaoh cursing the Israelites. "Where're my pancakes!" sounds like a call to battle in this demented world where everything is macho and nothing is...well, um, "un-macho"? It's all about the booming and the bashing and the hitting and the smacking, with unintentional comic relief provided by the tiny (of course)"girl" who has one heck of an anime hair-do. Anything--anything would have helped this dead whale get off the ground, except what they did. In this demented world, everything is based upon the social structure and skills of eight-year-olds. Conflict? Fight! All it needs is music by Metalica to be a perfect example of why maturity is a good thing. Give this one a pass.

War of the Worlds: Goliath (2012) is visually pretty but storytelling wise, it is absolutely boring. If it wasn't the awesome concept from the novel and the effort on visuals, this one honestly might end up being the second animated feature I'd rate 1 star. But I rated it 5 stars anyway, as some of you might like it for whatever reasons. When compared to all older Malaysian animated features, War of the Worlds: Goliath (2012) does has a nice feel to it but the plot is unfortunately quite bad. There are so many illogical scenes that are left unexplained or unfinished even until the end. The backstory? Certainly without much thought as it is not clear or even established in the animated feature itself. I understand alien invasion and steampunk are interesting but the series of random elements and events here won't make it a great storytelling or an enjoyable, at least for me even though it is the prettiest Malaysian animated film. (Out of four that I have seen.)

How do I kill a world renowned story of Martians invading earth, taking over the planet only the be killed by the humblest of organisms? I know, get rid of that last part, it actually has substance, add in big robots and guns, and we've done it. Honestly, this may as well not be War of the Worlds. Had those tripods been replaced by an original character, it might have been a little better, but the themes of War of the worlds have nothing to do with it. Its nothing like the originals, its not aliens taking over the earth, its a war movie with the tripods slapped in there for an enemy. Its like Godzilla being destroyed by the military. In fact its worse, because at least that would retain some of godzilla's themes. An awful movie, I would give it a 1 but the robot designs are quite cool. They shouldn't be there in the first place however.

This is not a great movie, but it is a good one. Pearson sets out to tell the story of the second Martian invasion, with humanity using salvaged Martian technology and advances in their own to defend the world more actively than last time. He sets this against the dawn of what in our world would be the First World War. That serves only as backdrop, though. The incipient conflict in Europe, the problem of Irish home rule, and other issues get forgotten partway through the movie. That's okay. They were distractions, and would have detracted from the main story. This is a war movie, not a political drama. It has all the requisite elements of Japanese, American, and British war movies, all the tropes, all the conflicts, and manages to deliver them without becoming a muddle. We have the heroic yet damaged young officer proving himself and overcoming his past. We have the somewhat inappropriate relationship between comrades in arms. We have explosions, heroics, self-sacrifice, and triumph but at a terrible cost. The story of the initial invasion is told briefly, in the credits, ending with an atomic shadow on a wall in a burning city. Pearson moves straight from there to the action getting rolling, and keeps the pacing fairly tight, letting the audience catch their breath but just barely before throwing in the next assault. The film contains what it says on the tin. There's a lot to be said for that. And hey, any movie with Theodore Roosevelt firing a heavy machine gun while riding atop a walking tank scores points with me.