Wreck-It Ralph

Wreck-It Ralph ~ After helping friend Marni celebrate her birthday at Red Lobster, The Bride and I decided to continue the evening as a date night, despite the raging rainsnowstorm outside. We hadn't been able to see Wreck-It Ralph since it's been out so we trekked across Route 38 to my least favorite theater to see it.

It was a rainy/snowy Wednesday night, and that may have something to do with it, but I was pleased to see the place nearly empty and doing very little business. I couldn't wish it on a nastier movie theater. That said, to be fair, we had no problems on this trip. As a matter of fact, the young man who took our tickets was very helpful. But you know, too little, too late. Gonna take a lot to change my mind about this place.

First things first, Wreck-It Ralph being a Disney/Pixar flick, we get a Pixar cartoon before the main feature. "Paperman" was a sweet short utilizing different animation than usual for Pixar, and it also had a bit of a Japanese anime vibe to it. I liked it a lot, a big reason to see this movie is to see "Paperman" first.

Wreck-It Ralph, the newest from Disney/Pixar, is loosely at first glance a cross between Toy Story and Tron. Like the first movie we discover that the entities in our videogames actually live, especially when we're not looking, and like the second flick we discover that they live in their own little universe with its own physical and moral laws, all within the confines of one arcade.

Wreck-It Ralph is the bad guy in a game called Fix-It Felix, Jr., essentially close to Donkey Kong in many ways. Ralph, shunned by the other denizens of his game, determines to leave his game and make good. He goes off to Hero's Duty, a hybrid of Halo and Starship Troopers, to win a medal, and recognition. When things go awry, he becomes stranded in Sugar Rush, a mix of Mario Kart and Candyland. There, Ralph must decide if truly is the bad guy, or a hero.

It's a complex plot that is quite dark in places, but for the most part, it's an enjoyable journey through 1980s videogame nostalgia. It has a sharp sense of humor, great characters, and the voice work of John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, and especially Jane Lynch is first class. There are also many cameos of classic videogame characters that make the flick a real treat.

An added trivia bonus for old school videogamers is the song that plays over the closing credits, "Wreck It, Wreck-It Ralph" by Jerry Buckner, formerly of Buckner & Garcia of "Pac-Man Fever" fame.

I liked Wreck-It Ralph quite a bit, and while I wonder if this might be over or under the heads of some folks who weren't into, or alive for, 1980s arcade games, I highly recommend it. Great flick.

X2: X-Men United

AGAINST ALL ODDS

A Film Review of X2: X-Men United

Copyright 2003 Glenn Walker

Being the real comics geek that I am it’s not hard to find things to like about the second X-Men film. What amazes me is how accessible it apparently is to non-comics folks.

Before the credits had run at the end of the film my wife spoke up to say she liked it – rare when it comes to comics-related stuff (she gets enough of that stuff from me). My friend Marni said she liked Nightcrawler so much she wanted to hug him. Two young girls behind us in the theatre discussed the original film before the previews started. One hadn’t seen it so her friend described it to her. "It’s so complicated, you don’t understand what’s going on, there’s too many characters… but it was sooo cool. You just gotta see it!" They were suitably impressed afterwards as well.

My amazement comes from that none of these folks are comics people. X-Men somehow works in the mainstream against all odds. It is actually a good movie. Unlike the first film which was (hell, it had to be) a lot of set up and had to introduce a dozen or so characters plus the whole mutant concept and premise for the X-Men the sequel had room to move, to expand, to explore.

X2: X-Men United focuses on one storyline and a specific group of characters. It keeps it light and tight. Rather than being overwhelmed by too much information you can sit back and marvel at what you’re seeing. This is much better than the original.



Magneto and Mystique are suitably evil and strictly out for themselves even as they work together with their sworn enemies the X-Men. The tales of Wolverine and Rogue continue to evolve as we get deeper focus on minor characters from the first film Iceman and Pyro. The movies, like the comic books, establish a soap opera like continuity that made the comics so successful.

Anyone who hasn’t taken the dive and seen this movie or its predecessor I urge you to immediately. Don’t be put off by the geek factor. Don’t think you’ll turn into a comics freak or worse yet a Trekkie. You’ll just enjoy the flick like everyone else. It’s accessible, it’s entertaining and it’s amazing.