METROPIA
2010
Not Rated
You can watch the trailer here
Not Rated
You can watch the trailer here
Oh, the advances of animation. Sometimes they're horribly, horribly bad, but sometimes they can be pretty good...
Metropia tells the story of a normal man named Roger (voiced by Vincent Gallo) whose paranoia leaves him wary of his every surrounding but especially the massive Metro system that conjoins all of Europe in 2024. When his bike is destroyed, he is forced to take the Metro and immediately begins to hear voices. While riding the subway system, he spies Nina (voiced by Juliette Lewis), a super-model who is the face of Dangst shampoo and is also the girl of Roger's dreams, so he decides to follow her. Within a matter of moments, he finds himself swept into a tale of urban alienation, corporate conspiracy and mind control. He joins with Nina to help solve the riddle of the voices in his head.
If anything is to be said about the screenplay, it's that it's about as original as you can get. The basis of the story lies in that one extremely powerful, Metro-owning corporation is using a popular brand of shampoo literally to get into the heads of the consumer. The company can then hear their thoughts as well as talk to them from their own headquarters (this explains Roger's voices). However, there are quite a few holes in the story. For starters, we never really learn just what about the Metro actually spurs these thoughts, considering that Roger never has them until he is forced to use it. Also, I never got much of a sense as to the reasoning behind the company's desire for mind control. It seemed as though they already had everyone riding the Metro, so it was a little lost on me as to what else they really wanted. World domination? Votes in the next election? A pat on the back? I have no idea.
If there's any reason to watch Metropia, it's to see the type of animation used. It's innovative and probably like nothing you've ever seen, but don't be put off by it. It took me a little while to get used to seeing characters that essentially look like living, breathing bobbleheads, but after a while, it grows on you, and you can see the animation for what it is. Once you get past the innovation of it all, you can see how intricate the filmmakers actually made the world around the characters. It's actually quite a sight.
So, if you have any inkling to watch this movie, I'd say watch it for the characters and for the animation. The story is good enough to keep you engaged, but it's not going to blow you away. Instead, let yourself be immersed into the world that director Tarik Saleh has created and simply enjoy.
Metropia tells the story of a normal man named Roger (voiced by Vincent Gallo) whose paranoia leaves him wary of his every surrounding but especially the massive Metro system that conjoins all of Europe in 2024. When his bike is destroyed, he is forced to take the Metro and immediately begins to hear voices. While riding the subway system, he spies Nina (voiced by Juliette Lewis), a super-model who is the face of Dangst shampoo and is also the girl of Roger's dreams, so he decides to follow her. Within a matter of moments, he finds himself swept into a tale of urban alienation, corporate conspiracy and mind control. He joins with Nina to help solve the riddle of the voices in his head.
If anything is to be said about the screenplay, it's that it's about as original as you can get. The basis of the story lies in that one extremely powerful, Metro-owning corporation is using a popular brand of shampoo literally to get into the heads of the consumer. The company can then hear their thoughts as well as talk to them from their own headquarters (this explains Roger's voices). However, there are quite a few holes in the story. For starters, we never really learn just what about the Metro actually spurs these thoughts, considering that Roger never has them until he is forced to use it. Also, I never got much of a sense as to the reasoning behind the company's desire for mind control. It seemed as though they already had everyone riding the Metro, so it was a little lost on me as to what else they really wanted. World domination? Votes in the next election? A pat on the back? I have no idea.
If there's any reason to watch Metropia, it's to see the type of animation used. It's innovative and probably like nothing you've ever seen, but don't be put off by it. It took me a little while to get used to seeing characters that essentially look like living, breathing bobbleheads, but after a while, it grows on you, and you can see the animation for what it is. Once you get past the innovation of it all, you can see how intricate the filmmakers actually made the world around the characters. It's actually quite a sight.
So, if you have any inkling to watch this movie, I'd say watch it for the characters and for the animation. The story is good enough to keep you engaged, but it's not going to blow you away. Instead, let yourself be immersed into the world that director Tarik Saleh has created and simply enjoy.
Movie Review Summary:
Grade: C
Thumb... Slightly Up
Grade: C
Thumb... Slightly Up
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