by Jonathan Klotz
| Published
Christmas movies are allowed to be sarcastic, bright, colorful and extremely cheerful, making them feel-good movies to watch every year with the family. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, dwarf, the Santa Clausand Christmas story They're all classics, but, for some reason, you find them these days Fast polarityRobert Zemeckis's box office disappointment, is considered a modern classic. How anyone could look deep into the soulless eyes of Tom Hanks as the bandleader and think, “That's the spirit of Christmas,” is beyond me because this movie headed straight into the uncanny valley, and the plot must have lost its ticket because it's not there in Anywhere. To be seen.
Straight into the uncanny valley
Released in 2004, Fast polarity It was filmed in motion capture, the same style Zemeckis would later use Beowulf and Christmas carolspecifically to capture the pictorial quality of the popular children's book. Thanks to the talent of Chris Van Allsburg, the book exudes warmth and wonder from its pages, but it is too short and lacks the substance for a feature film. I think the feature film lacks enough content for a feature film, because even when talking to people who like this movie, they only talk about the train sequence itself and leave the back half of the movie with the kids running through the goblin command center.
Fast polarity The film revolves around Hero Boy, a young boy (motion capture provided by Tom Hanks) who loses his confidence on Christmas when a train stops in front of his house, and walks away after being urged into the film by The Conductor, played by Tom Hanks. Journey to the North Pole. Hanks, as the leader, doesn't play a big enough role for this kind of film and to register any emotion in his performance. Being a strict father, The Conductor isn't the villain of the film, but he's also not the kind of cheerful guide you'd expect on a train full of kids headed to the North Pole.
There's an action scene along the way, created for it Fast polarity When the film goes off the rails over an ice-covered lake, it's the only moment in the film that feels like it has any real stakes or momentum. Outside of that moment, nothing happens. Sure, it ends on a beautiful moment with the bell ringing (which goes against the original meaning of the novel), but that moment isn't worth the trip to get there because of the CGI, the lack of plot, and finally the annoying kids.
Classic by default
I know Fast polarity Intended for kids, but 20 years after the film's release, it seems studios have finally realized that kids in movies can be fully realized characters that transcend old-fashioned acting.From one stereotype, such as: “know-it-all, loner, hero, girl.” These are the main children in the movie. If Zemeckis had any guts, he would have gotten Billy the Lonely Boy his first Christmas present instead of Hero Boy. However, instead of subverting expectations, we're left with annoying dialogue, weird facial expressions, and poor decisions that clearly exist to give the film something to pop on screen.
However, because the film is intended for children, it is considered a classic now that those children are adults and look back nostalgically on early August. This is the same generation that decided the Star Wars prequels were cool, but I couldn't judge them too harshly, I thought Three ninjas It was the height of cinema, which I loved Christmas Claymation Special. In 2004, no big-budget, G-rated Christmas films were getting major releases, which leaves… Fast polarity As a generation favorite by default.
As kids, we had terrible taste, and again, I'll confess my love for it Three ninjasThat's why no one talks about it Fast polarity Outside of “I love this movie.” There's no debate about the great scenes, moments, iconic lines or classic characters, yet people will speak fondly of the film. That's because they were kids when they saw it, and they can still hear the bell today, and it's not because it's a good movie or even a good movie, it's a movie, and when you're a kid, that's good enough.
Fast polarity It is broadcasting Disney+and Topin case you need a reminder that this is a movie where nothing happens.
