Now, I have no idea how good of an adaptation this was as I don’t think I even laid eyes on the game, but the core plot on its own is pretty well trodden ground.
There is no denying that this was a HUGE step in computer generated animation. I don’t think we truly had any idea how big of a step it was 25 years ago. Or maybe we did and that is why it did so poorly at the box office. Maybe it was a push back on something we weren’t quite ready for. Flash forward 20 years and now what was achieved in this film seems quaint and almost as old-fashioned as cel animation.
Between this and 2004’s “Sky Captain…” the genie was out of the bottle and it was only a matter of time before it would, as it has, being the norm rather than just “experimental.”
I don’t mind the film. I remember being VERY impressed with it then and looking at it now, it is easy to see its rough spots. The animation while groundbreaking, lacks emotion and feels a little disjointed from the audio. The actors are giving it their all and their characters seem disinterested.
The “spirits” motivation is questionable. I get that they are the souls of a dead world, and that they are confused and scared, but I’m not sure that justifies their very decisive attacks on the living.
You have to be willing to accept a lot of metaphysical theories and be willing to just roll with the plot, but it’s not a bad film. It just fails to elevate itself to being a good one.
If it is nothing else, it is a fantastic time capsule of technology and animation.
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