Up In The Air is a good movie, but ultimately becomes weighed down the protagonist's family.

Rating: 8/10 (19 May 2010)

8.4
I have always loved to be on the move. And I don't mean physically moving, like exercise. I mean changing my location, and making sure that my plans meet that requirement. I find it more interesting to be mobile like this, instead of working in just one place. I do not mind settling down for a while, but I need some novelty. I survive through novelty. I require either for me or my environment to be dynamic. And like I said, I'm not the most active person, physically. I like to sit down in a car, or even an airplane, look outside the window, and relax.
Up In The Air is a story about a man that lives the extreme of what I just described. He appears to have no family, no connections, no ties. Nothing to weigh him down, for his occupation requires him to be portable. He works for a company that other companies hire out and request for agents to come and fire or lay off their employees. He travels around the United States, terminating people from their jobs. He is the bearer of bad news, and nothing more than that.
Up In The Air starts off really good. Although the audience can't relate to the main character, they can find some rapport. Most everyone has been on an airplane before, possibly even for business reasons. Most everyone knows what it's like to be busy all of the time, always moving and doing. Usually, movies offer an exaggerated depiction of normal people. This is definitely true about the protagonist in Up In The Air.
I found the trailer and premise for Up In The Air to be very interesting. I was sure that this movie was going to be one of my favorite movies. Unfortunately, this was not the case. While it does start off good, it soon ends up being anchored down by a side story of sorts. The main character's sister is getting married, and she has asked him to take pictures of a cardboard cut-out of her and her husband all over the country. We soon find out that this is because they can't afford a honeymoon. Not only is this weird, but it feels completely out of place with the rest of the film. And soon after, we are treated to a good chunk of the movie dealing directly with the marriage. Even though I feel that this is necessary for the story to continue, and the main character to develop, it is almost painstaking to watch. Why must we focus so much on these side characters in this side story? It is not what drove me to the film in the first place, and it ended up being what repelled me from the film in the end. It is interesting that the main character feels weighed down by his family and their lives, because it is exactly how I felt about it in regards to the film. Is this what the filmmakers were going for? Somehow, I doubt it.
Even though I see the movie as being completely lop-sided by this side story, it is definitely a very nice vessel. The scenes where the main character is firing people, usually just a montage of people's faces and their accompanying reactions, are powerful. You really get to look into these people's eyes and feel the emotion in the scenes. Contrasted by the other half of the protagonist's personality, is the scenes where he is in the airports, or in the airplanes. These scenes are also very entertaining, as he usually narrates what life is like for him on the run. Again, these scenes are directed and shot very well. They match the pacing that his life asks of him.
These are the scenes that make Up In The Air what it is. This is the meat of the movie, and it's sad to see that there is so much bone content here. I was really expecting that Up In The Air was going to be one of my favorite movies of all time. Sadly, it wasn't. However, I can't really judge the film for letting me down. I can be as honest as I can and say that the film is weighed down by the marriage side story, and the amount of time the filmmakers decided to spend on it. I did want the character to develop, but during the entire time I was watching these scenes I wanted him to kind of, you know... move along. Up In The Air is an entertaining movie, and there is definitely an audience for it, even though after a certain point, you might not want to settle down with it.