Review of The Iron Giant (1999) by C0Up — 07 Jan 2012
'The Iron Giant'. An emotionally overpowering, animated marvel from the genius that is Brad Bird.
A lonely boy, an unlikely friendship, life and death, set against the fear and paranoia of the Cold War in a small town. None of these are unique, new ideas, but 'The Iron Giant' puts them together in an unbelievably special way.
The scenes in which Hogarth teaches the Giant about humanity are the film's finest moments, and the central theme of "you're not a gun, you are who you choose to be" doesn't come across for a second as heavy-handed; everything gels together so well.
It toys with your emotions perfectly, from the absolute anger you feel towards Kent Mansley to the joy and sorrow that comes from the friendship of Hogarth and the absolutely lovely giant, in what is clearly Vin Diesel's finest role! The sense of impending doom and inevitability throughout the film created a sinking feeling in my stomach that heightened the emotions even further, and boy was it a rollercoaster that I went through.
I was enraged. I was in love. I laughed. I cried.
Oh! And J.J. Abrams' kids screaming "bad robot!" in the production logo of Bad Robot, yeah, that *has* to be inspired by this, where Hogarth screams "bad robot!" when the Giant is wreaking havoc.
This review of The Iron Giant (1999) was written by C0Up on 07 Jan 2012.
The Iron Giant has generally received very positive reviews.
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