Looking back – almost three decades back – virtually nothing in the latest feature from Pixar could have been achieved at the dawn of computer animation. Certainly not with any credibility. In Elemental, the studio’s first all out cinema original since 2020’s Onward, flames lick the air with every smoking flicker. People made entirely of water osmose seamlessly in and out of photo real canals, while folk of bark and foliage sprout bright and casually stunning floristry from their branch pits. It’s as though one could reach forth and pluck petals from the screen itself. These days, Toy Story’s groundbreaking animation looks little more than child’s play in comparison. Elemental hasn’t the emotional gut-wrenchary of that original masterpiece but proves, twenty-seven films on, that Pixar still rides a wave of its innovative own even now.
DreamWorks’ latest feature comes billed as John Hughes for kids but delivers Pixar for amnesiacs. That’s not to say the film is bad by any means. Heck, word vomit title aside, Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken even boasts bursts of fleeting brilliance. And yet, where it stumbles is in comparison to the better offerings it recalls. From Turning Red is plundered a somewhat clunky metaphor for puberty. From Luca comes the notion of sea monsters living on land and the down low. If all you can add is a bland pop soundtrack, why bother? It’s almost tragic to note that, owing to pandemic restrictions, Ruby Gillman will easily surpass its superior forebears’ stringent box office returns.
Remember that aura of dissatisfaction that haunted the multiplex as the credits rolled on 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull? It was in the mutterings of malignancy that decried Shia LaBeouf’s irritating Mutt and ridiculed the risible extraterrestrial final act. You weren’t alone. Dial of Destiny, the fifth and final in the franchise, arrives lobbied by Harrison Ford himself and the screen icon’s personal penchant for an emotional encore. See also: The Force Awakens and Blade Runner 2049. Though seemingly unshared by Steven Spielberg, who steps back from directorial duties for the first time in the series, Ford’s passion is infectious. This one boasts some thunderously entertaining fun.
The Film Blog 