Antz Review
So I guess there was a reason I was bored by this movie when I first saw it as a kid, and thought "A Bug's Life" was better---because this ISN'T FOR KIDS. No idea why they made this the way they did---it's far too childish for adults, and far too mature for children. Adults would certainly be entertained, though.
Obviously the main theme deals far too much with adult themes involving individuality, conformity, significance, self awareness, etcetera. Loads of "Hey it's that guy/girl!" voice moments, as Woody Allen plays Z, Sylvester Stallone plays Weaver, Jennifer Lopez plays Azteca, Sharon Stone plays Princess Bala, Gene Hackman plays General Stupid, Christopher Walken plays Colonel Cutter, Danny Glover plays Barbatus in what amounts to a glorified cameo, Anne Bancroft plays the Queen, etcetera.
Me being the militant military person I am, I have some problems with General Stupid, who I named that because he is quite frankly stupid. It's not really a major storyline moment, but a major plot point, in which the Antz are sent on a blatant suicide mission to attack a Termite colony. General Stupid acknowledges this is a suicide mission. Exactly what purpose this serves is still a total mystery to me, as all it could accomplish is massacreing thousands of Ant soldiers, and provoking the Termites into war that they could ATTACK THE ANT COLONY WHICH NOW HAS LESS OR NO SOLDIERS TO DEFEND IT. Unless he wants the Colony to be destroyed, there's no logic at all in his stupidity.
The battle scene gave me the impression of an army of something like Zulu warriors (not an insult) against an army of ELEPHANTS with FLAMETHROWERS on their heads. The Antz are armed with short spears (or rather, sticks), no armor, but are fast and agile and can jump around. The Termites are gigantic and overly fat, and shoot acid from their foreheads. Either Rule of Cool superceded actual research, or there was a critical research failure, as Termites do not work that way, either in appearance or function.
Speaking of a case of either Rule of Cool/Critical Research Failure, magnifying glasses do not work that way on ants. But I figure instantly turning to ash is less brutal for kids than an ant writhing about at fast speed. Even though kids would likely do that in real life, it's a lot different when the ants are like humans.
But leaving those nitpicking things aside, this is NOT a movie for kids. The content is too mature, the faces are a bit creepy for kids (which is exactly what I thought as a kid), and even now I still don't really like the film. It's a bit too stale and too averse to maturity. But even then, I still acknowledge it's a decent film, unfortunately spoiled by being inappropriate for its target audience. It's too good for kids. LIFE IS NOT A PICNIC FOR Z, A SMALL WORKER ANT WITH VERY BIG IDEAS. WHEN Z FALLS FOR THE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESS BALA, HIS ODDS OF WINNING HER OVER ARE ONE IN A BILLION. TO GET NOTICED, HE SWITCHES PLACES WITH SOLDIER ANT WEAVER.
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Customer Reviews
Not a children's movie!!!! Should have been pg-13 minimum - O. Fischer - Atlanta, GA
It starts off with a stuttering monologue by Woody Allen's character in a psychiatrist's office -- it was boring & clichéd. Fast forward 10 minutes to Sylvester Stallone's character saying "what are you b*tchin about?" *gasp* goes me....what on earth? But fortunately my child had zero interest and wasn't watching. I'm kicking myself for not paying attention to the reviews by others that mentioned the cursing -- I just saw an animated PG flick and bought it :-(
Antz - Celia Leach - Brick, New Jersey
Very cute movie. as always there is a moral at the end. Good watching
Jun 27, 2010 08:59:08
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