Susan Granger’s review of “Battle for Terra” (Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions)
There’s exciting 3-D and then there’s insipid 3-D, making you question why you plunked down that extra money for those disposable glasses. Unfortunately, this animated space exercise belongs in the latter category.
Reversing the classic sci-fi concept of H.G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds,” it’s about two rebellious, tadpole-shaped alien teens, Senn (voiced by Justin Long) and Mala (voiced by Evan Rachel Wood), who gracefully float around on a harmonious, peaceful planet Terra that’s brutally invaded by homo sapiens whose Earth habitat has been destroyed by a civil war and environmental catastrophe. In the midst of the colonizing chaos under the command of ruthless General Hemmer (Brian Cox), adventurous Mala befriends an injured Earthling pilot, Lt. Jim Stanton (voiced by Luke Wilson), and – with the help of his faithful, crab-shaped robotic companion, Giddy (voiced by David Cross) – creates an oxygen-enriched environment that saves Jim’s life.
“I scare him,” Mala observes. “Everything different scares them,” Giddy replies.
But since Mala’s dad (voiced by Dennis Quaid) has been abducted by the Earth Force and is being held captive as a prisoner-of-war, Mala and Jim manage to overcome their differences, achieving a high enough level of tolerance to appeal to the leader of the restrictive Elders (voiced by James Garner) to precipitate a human/Terrarean alliance that will determine the ultimate fate of the planet.
Directed by Aristomenis Tsirbas, who expanded it from his own shorter, 2-D version called “Terra” with the help of writer Evan Spilotopoulos, its most exciting CGI sequences are the apocalyptic fighter-plane battles, which is rather ironic, given the peaceable theme. And far too much of the atmospheric animation closely resembles George Lucas’s made-for-TV “Clone Wars.” So, despite its noble anti-war message, on the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Battle for Terra” is a clichéd, formulaic 5. Unless the kids are clamoring, wait for the dvd.
