I don't know what the previous poster's (Jack Oats) standards are... to me his review sounds more like paid advertisement.
"Atlantis" deeply disappointed me. The story was lame, full of clichees, poorly executed, jammed with pseudo-esoteric humbug, and generally boring. We didn't have characters, not to mention any development- just clichees.
The character animation was mediocre, to say the best. What was done with CGI was impressive, but much too short and poorly placed. Why one wastes an endless span with the (pretty pointless) exposition and the superfluent and absurd twist of Milo being kidnapped, then introduces the magnificent submarine and ditches it again just a minute later, to follow up with the endless and boring expedition, rather than exploiting the awe-inspiring design, completely escapes me.
The soundtrack was okay, but not spectacular. At least for the German dubbed version, one has to note that the accents and speech impediments of various characters were way too pronounced, and sometimes they were pretty hard to understand.
Overall, the old rule of thumb that six screenplay writers are five to many, seems to apply again. The story held _nothing_, and since all the cool images (like the zeppelin/ballon) were staged in the least effective way, one can't even say it was nice to look at.
"Atlantis" seemed to me to lack a concept. The character animation reminded me of 60's disney movies, like "Merlin and Mim", or the "Jungle Book", and sometimes tried to be funny. The background and CGI "style", though, was much more "mature" and sombre, and contrasted awkwardly with the characters. Likewise, "fun" characters like Vinnie, Mole or Cookie were not funny for the most part, and they didn't fit in with the gloomy aspects like the expedition members resembling WWI-soldiers with gas masks. (Why they were required to constantly wear gas masks will remains the director's secret, I suspect. Probably to make them look gloomy. But it's stoopid.)
/*** spoiler ahead ***/
Likewise, after the crash of the submarine, the crew shortly mourns for some two hundred of the crew having died... but goes on with their cheap jokes immediately. Not necessarily character depth, I'd say.
Even worse, we are told that Atlantis sank as a result of a war running wild, yet the film later implies that the evil guys can only be overcome by a battle of machine guns, war planes and bombs. Fair enough for a Schwarzenegger vehicle, but questionable in connection with our plot. One would expect the Atlantians and Milo resp. to be able to come up with something more clever and original.
Summary: To some it's a movie. To others it's the longest outtake of the year.
"Atlantis" deeply disappointed me. The story was lame, full of clichees, poorly executed, jammed with pseudo-esoteric humbug, and generally boring. We didn't have characters, not to mention any development- just clichees.
The character animation was mediocre, to say the best. What was done with CGI was impressive, but much too short and poorly placed. Why one wastes an endless span with the (pretty pointless) exposition and the superfluent and absurd twist of Milo being kidnapped, then introduces the magnificent submarine and ditches it again just a minute later, to follow up with the endless and boring expedition, rather than exploiting the awe-inspiring design, completely escapes me.
The soundtrack was okay, but not spectacular. At least for the German dubbed version, one has to note that the accents and speech impediments of various characters were way too pronounced, and sometimes they were pretty hard to understand.
Overall, the old rule of thumb that six screenplay writers are five to many, seems to apply again. The story held _nothing_, and since all the cool images (like the zeppelin/ballon) were staged in the least effective way, one can't even say it was nice to look at.
"Atlantis" seemed to me to lack a concept. The character animation reminded me of 60's disney movies, like "Merlin and Mim", or the "Jungle Book", and sometimes tried to be funny. The background and CGI "style", though, was much more "mature" and sombre, and contrasted awkwardly with the characters. Likewise, "fun" characters like Vinnie, Mole or Cookie were not funny for the most part, and they didn't fit in with the gloomy aspects like the expedition members resembling WWI-soldiers with gas masks. (Why they were required to constantly wear gas masks will remains the director's secret, I suspect. Probably to make them look gloomy. But it's stoopid.)
/*** spoiler ahead ***/
Likewise, after the crash of the submarine, the crew shortly mourns for some two hundred of the crew having died... but goes on with their cheap jokes immediately. Not necessarily character depth, I'd say.
Even worse, we are told that Atlantis sank as a result of a war running wild, yet the film later implies that the evil guys can only be overcome by a battle of machine guns, war planes and bombs. Fair enough for a Schwarzenegger vehicle, but questionable in connection with our plot. One would expect the Atlantians and Milo resp. to be able to come up with something more clever and original.
Summary: To some it's a movie. To others it's the longest outtake of the year.