Surprisingly Wonderful

Rating: 8/10 (24 October 2001)

THE IRON GIANT
-- 11/26/99
THE IRON GIANT was a total surprise. I usually skip animation at the theatre, but I made an exception on this one and I am glad that I did. I would even go so far as to put this film in my Top 10 list for 1999.

THE IRON GIANT not only had a positive message, but was funny and heart-warming too. As a guy who is totally at odds with the unduly graphic, formulaic, impersonal and dumbed-down movies of this era, it was a unique experience for me to walk out of a movie feeling good about what I just saw. For example, although FIGHT CLUB (8.5/10) is easily one of the top five movies of the year, I must admit that I did not feel particularly good when I left the theatre that day. Shocked is the word that comes to mind, but "good" is not one of them.
After thinking over the films I had seen so far this year, not unsurprisingly, almost none of them made me feel good. Oh, I may have been intellectually stimulated, but was I encased in a field of positive energy? No.
If you want a big, warm fuzzy, this film, THE IRON GIANT, is certainly the one to watch.
8/10