Smart, clever and more fun than a big, huggable robot

Rating: 7/10 (19 November 2014)

"Big Hero 6" delivers on its very specific promise of being a somewhat comedic (although the family member death toll is quite high), loud, kinetic action-adventure film. The fun mostly comes from its "Real Genius" or "Revenge of the Nerds" hyperactive brainiac superheroes reacting against "The Dude"-like "Baymax" played by Scott Adsit (of "30 Rock" fame). His Spock-ian rationality and calm acts as the perfect comic foil against which to contrast collapsing buildings, dastardly Steve Jobs-modeled villains and very implausible technology weapons (wouldn't have telepathic controls been way more than enough to win the science fair without needing the cooperative robots?). Baymax charms more than any of the human characters all of whom are polite and with a heart of gold other than the juvenilely named "Go-Go". The characters are winning than the plot which pulls its punches in the same way "Star Trek Into Darkness" does by given the bad guy a good reason for his evil actions (in both cases to same their families). Takes some of the sting of the revenge fantasy angle. Beyond the standard Disney killing off of the mother, the movie goes a little overboard by taking out other family members as well - thought this was a kid's popcorn flick screenwriters? However, lots of Easter eggs, nicely- paced action and some clever dialog make you forget about the plot weaknesses. In short, while you won't remember the film by the time the inevitable sequel rolls out, you'll retain a vague sense of having been entertained.