Heavy Metal (Collector's Edition)
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Movie Reviews of Heavy Metal (Collector's Edition)
Movie Review: Good Ole Movie
Summary: 3 Stars
Like many teenaged boys, my friends and I watched this one over and over when it came out back in 19-somethin' somethin'. It is worth watching for SciFi buffs, even if you're not a teen male, for the eclectic stories interwoven under a single theme. A good gamer movie. I have heard it was the first animated movie that was rated R, but I'm not sure if that's true. Not for children (nudity, violence, drugs, adult themes) but nowhere near as bad as some of the movies that are out nowadays. Listen for many celebrity voices and awesome soundtrack.Movie Review: Favorite guilty pleasure. I love this movie.
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie is one of my favorite guilty pleasures. I have to watch it at twice a year or more.Movie Review: Heavy Metal (Collector's Edition)
Summary: 5 Stars
I had forgotten all about this movie! I was shopping for a copy of "Wizards" and found this. I saw it in the theater when it first was introduced. The DVD took me back - the sound and quality were beyond words! Several animated mini stories tied together with the mysterious evil green orb. The movie can best be summed with the unspoked phrase, "Don't call me 'Bitch'."Movie Review: Definitely represents its roots well
Summary: 3 Stars
Back in the early 70's Marvel Comics made an offshoot anthology comic book geared toward adults. This book was called Heavy Metal and it's still going strong today. Most of the stories are science fiction and delve into some pretty strange ideas. The movie was made to in a way showcase the talent that came from the most popular artists and writers of that magazine. There was some up and coming Canadian talent doing the voice work like John Candy and Eugene Levy. While the idea sounds cool enough I think the execution leaves a little bit to be desired. This movie feels like it was a rush job considering some inconsistent production values and even some of the story content. Since it is an anthology of multiple stories I will go down the line so you can get an idea where the quality lies and where it falls short.
Soft Landing - This is the opening sequence that comes with the opening credits and it's the only story that connects itself to another story in the movie. The animation is a rough rotoscope technique that has only a wash of paint over real footage. I like how they did it. Very artistic. I have to admit it is a perfect representation of the magazine with its off the wall content and nice design. The hard rock soundtrack feel appropriate in this segment too. It's short, but it sure does make quite a good impression.
Grimaldi - This is the story Soft Landing connects itself to and it sets the stage for the theme that supposedly connects the other stories together. It's a weak way to put the anthology together at best. Still it does give the movie something to put the wildly different stories together. The animation is not bad and it can get a little gruesome at times. Again this is a short story since all it does it introduce the Loc Nar. You will see this segment between girl and Loc Nar throughout the movie to help keep the plotline going in the right direction in your mind... if you want to call it a plot.
Harry Canyan - This is the story of a New York taxi driver in the year 2031. The script has a classic film noir sense to it that adds some charm to this piece. I hear this story inspired parts of The Fifth Element so that's kind of cool. This story is classic Heavy Metal. The look of the cityscape and stuff reminds me of the graphic novel Hard Boiled as well as work from the artist Moebius. The animation looks like it's at an atrocious 12 frames per second (or less), which kills the coolness of the artwork sometimes. This one probably has the worst soundtrack of all the stories. The rock music just doesn't fit at all. This one is not really bad, but there is plenty to keep it from being really good.
Den - This is another classic Heavy Metal type story and it is a funny one. It's a Richard Corben styled story and I guess you can call it every geek boy's fantasy since the star (John Candy) is an 18 yr old nerd who turns into a muscular barbarian hero that always gets the girl. They play that theme up to the hilt with some funny narration by Candy, who is great in this one. This adventure/comedy has a little more story depth than the previous stories but the animation is still choppy. The soundtrack it a good classic fantasy styled piece that works well with this one. Even though the animation (again not the art, which is nice) leaves a lot to be desired the enjoyable story and funny dialog make up for it and make this story one of the better ones.
Captain Sternn - This come straight from a character created by Bernie Wrightson that was quite popular in the Heavy Metal magazine. Sternn is an anti-hero in the magazine and in the movie he is now being brought up on charges for his evil deeds (fans of the mag back then must have loved the irony of this). The animation has a more cartoonish feel to it and does't try to make the characters all that realistic like the other short films in this movie. However the animation is LOT cleaner here and I wished the rest of the stories were this polished. The story itself is entertaining as well, but ultimately it's all just one big build up for a wacky yet funny punch line at the end. Amusing enough, but it won't carry the movie.
B-17 - This is the scariest of the bunch. A classic horror film created by renowned horror comic artist Mike Ploog. The story lends itself to being scary folklore to frighten WWII pilots or something like that and it pulls it off very well. Artistically it's eerie and has a classic 40's feel to the drawings and the animation seems to be a lot better. Some of the artwork does get limited by the fact it's an animated story, but that only lends more to the style. This is one of the definite shining gems of the movie.
So Beautiful and So Dangerous - This can be called Cheech and Chong in space. It's a mix of sophomoric drug humor, interpersonal relationships with robots, and universal perspective. The stoner aliens didn't do it for me at all. Then again that is a certain kind of humor not everybody gets into. The interaction between the Pentagon secretary and robot is pretty funny for adult humor. Again John Candy brings a lot of fun in his role as the robot. What I found interesting was the size comparisons they played with in this short. You have a ship many times larger than the Pentagon controlled by a robot and two half-baked aliens, which docks with an even more massive space station. The animation is on par with the better stuff in this movie, but the soundtrack is yet another hard rock throwaway that doesn't do anything to enhance the story. Ultimately this one is merely okay in my book. Nothing special.
Tarrna - This story is the best of the best in this anthology. Nothing compares to it in cinematic execution, which is probably why they saved it for last. The animation is still a relatively low frame rate (by Disney's standards) but there is a lot of rotoscoping done that makes those frames very effective and very beautiful. The soundtrack fits the short film better than any music did on the previous stories. The story is the best of the bunch too. The settings are cool with the futuristic wasteland. The designs are definitely a Moebius influence with some breathtaking landscapes and wild technology scattered about. Of course this story also resolves the plot devised that started the whole movie to begin with so everything is tied up nice and neat. If the other short films (aside from B-17) put this much attention in the execution of their perspective works then you would have a much better movie all around.
Heavy Metal did accomplish what it set out to do in that it showcased the magazine in a time when it was at its highest in popularity. For the non-Heavy Metal Magazine fan it's not as good. Keep in mind the content has lots of blatant animated nudity, sexual situations and graphic violence, Definitely not for the kids. The stories are interesting enough, but that might not be enough for some who expect quality production values all the way through. If you're a fan of the comic book then you probably already seen it and love it. If you are the type of person who jams to classic rock and have that biker rebel streak in you then you might find Heavy Metal refreshing. The rest of you will have to just make a judgment call. It has equal parts good and bad qualities so take that for whatever you see it.
Movie Review: Heavy Metal - Totally Cool Flick!
Summary: 5 Stars
I viewed this movie back when it first came out; it was a double feature opening for Pink Floyd's The Wall. I was so psyched when I saw these films. Heavy Metal was the first "hi-tech" cartoon movie that had (still has) an awesome soundtrack. I have seen it twice since Xmas 2006 and love this movie. Great party flick for all ages, great date flick, great for just mellowing out to some great entertainment. Some great tunes within, buy it just for that!
Much better flick if you have a good to great sound system to hear it on and you've got to turn off the lights to get its full effects.
Buy it and add to your collection - you won't be disappointed.