Brilliant social commentary

Rating: Null/10 (23 March 2003)

This movie is simply extraordinary. It gives us a fresh and innovative view of the McCarthy era, when paranoia dictated politics and fear motivated overwhelmed our sense of responsibility and accountability.
By framing the story as a cartoon and presenting it to us from the point of view of a child, the viewer is able to judge the other characters objectively for what they are. The naivete of Hogarth and the seeming innocence of the plot is a stark contrast to the probing cynicism and paranoia of the CIA.
The movie does indeed oversimplify some major issues to make its point. The Iron Giant, as a symbol of ultimate good, and the CIA as the symbol of pure evil is certainly unfair. The rigid binary of good/evil, right/wrong is problematic. But it nevertheless forces us to ask questions about ourselves and about how we take the authority of those who claim to be looking out for our best interests.
The Iron Giant is a refreshing tale of moral accountability and a brilliant social commentary on a dark time in American history