Overall, I really like the film. The plot is interesting, there are some fantastic moments, and the message is complex and important.
So why do I not come away so shaken?
Let's start with Judy. I don't dislike her at all, and I admire her cleverness and determination, and I love that she is so concerned about equality yet harbors subconscious prejudices. It's just her idealism I don't like. And it's not that they handle this poorly- it's taken apart and put back together like it should be. It's just that I feel this robs her of some actual personality potential. Nick feels like a much more fleshed out character, while Judy is left being the optimist, and that's about it.
I also feel like the villain was underdone. Since it's a plot twist, the truth is revealed late in the movie, and I feel like they lack the amount of evil screen time they should have. Heck, the amount of GOOD screen time for the character is minimal, so I really wish they had gone further with their motivations and actual onscreen villainy, 'cause there's some good stuff there.
The comedy aspects of this film didn't get me that much, either. While it makes sense as a study of stereotyping, the majority of the jokes are "animal acts like you'd expect" or "animal doesn't act like you'd expect", and that stuff is okay for a background gag, perhaps, but they're the comedic focus. The DMV scene has a good comedic basis, but I found the fact that the ENTIRE long gag is shown to be tiresome- a smash cut in the middle to them leaving wouldn't have destroyed the joke and the audience would be fine. The bit with the "naturalist" club is very clever and audacious, though. Credit where it's due.
I don't know, maybe it's my opinions, because it's certainly a good film, and arguably an important one. I just didn't connect to it in the same way as I have with others.
A very solid film...that leaves me a bit underwhelmed.
Overall, I really like the film. The plot is interesting, there are some fantastic moments, and the message is complex and important. So why do I not come away so shaken?
Let's start with Judy. I don't dislike her at all, and I admire her cleverness and determination, and I love that she is so concerned about equality yet harbors subconscious prejudices. It's just her idealism I don't like. And it's not that they handle this poorly- it's taken apart and put back together like it should be. It's just that I feel this robs her of some actual personality potential. Nick feels like a much more fleshed out character, while Judy is left being the optimist, and that's about it.
I also feel like the villain was underdone. Since it's a plot twist, the truth is revealed late in the movie, and I feel like they lack the amount of evil screen time they should have. Heck, the amount of GOOD screen time for the character is minimal, so I really wish they had gone further with their motivations and actual onscreen villainy, 'cause there's some good stuff there.
The comedy aspects of this film didn't get me that much, either. While it makes sense as a study of stereotyping, the majority of the jokes are "animal acts like you'd expect" or "animal doesn't act like you'd expect", and that stuff is okay for a background gag, perhaps, but they're the comedic focus. The DMV scene has a good comedic basis, but I found the fact that the ENTIRE long gag is shown to be tiresome- a smash cut in the middle to them leaving wouldn't have destroyed the joke and the audience would be fine. The bit with the "naturalist" club is very clever and audacious, though. Credit where it's due.
I don't know, maybe it's my opinions, because it's certainly a good film, and arguably an important one. I just didn't connect to it in the same way as I have with others.