Battle for Terra
By Daryl Tan
Director: Aristomenis Tsirbas
Starring: Luke Wilson, Evan Rachel Wood, Dennis Quaid, Justin Long, Chris Evans, Brian Cox, Danny Glover, Rosanna Arquette
Official website: http://www.battleforterra.com
Al Gore should just quit it while An Inconvenient Truth is still ahead. Because it looks like light years from now, humans are still going to decimate their little planet whichever way the wind blows.
That's the premise which kick-starts sci-fi animation flick, Battle for Terra. Mankind has depleted the earth's natural resources, and consequently destroyed the whole planet in the process. The survivors hop on board a spaceship, and traverse the universe, seeking a new planet to sow their seeds. They discover the abundant and lushly-landscaped Terra, and decide to start their new colony there.
Two problems crop up though: Terra's already inhabited by the native Terrans, and human lifeblood, oxygen, does not feature in the planet's blend of atmospheric gases.
Well, humans, being humans, decide to evict the docile, peace-loving Terrans (or rather, murder them in cold blood) and take over the planet anyway. They plant an oxygen-generating machine in Terra, and send in the army to take control.
However, one human, Lieutenant Jim Stanton (Luke Wilson) befriends Mala, a female Terran (Evan Rachel Wood), after she saves his life. Convinced that mankind should not forcefully acquire something that isn't theirs, he puts himself in the line of fire to defend Terra against the invasion.
The movie's characters exist mostly to carry the story forward, and sometimes to evoke a contrived pathos. They are memorable for the stereotypes they portray. Lt. Stanton revving his little space plane straight into the oxygen generator - think Will Smith in Independence Day, right down to the squinting eyes. Dennis Quaid sacrificing his life to save his daughter Mala - that dates back to even The Land Before Time.
Thematically, Battle for Terra raises familiar, profound topics, such as environmental conservation, imperialism and multiracial co-existence. There's even a subtle dig at religion for the dumbing down of a whole species.
Given this wealth of potential at their disposal, I'd have to write off the creators of Battle for Terra as disrespectful to audiences for not further developing their story. They opted to breeze through these issues, without delving deeper into any one of them. That's certainly not science fiction - a thinking man's genre - as I've come to know it.
I had to keep reminding myself this is a film made solely to lure little tykes into the theatres, so parents can empty their purses at the counter. Think about it: war on an inter-galactic scale, spaceships, and 3D goggles.
In all fairness, this was a film made for children. And if kids get just an inkling of the significance of preserving the world and opting for peace over violence, Battle for Terra should rank as a thought-provoking film which has expanded their mental horizons.
Sadly, blunted by all the mindless action strewn throughout the 85 minute show (and 3D animals aimlessly floating around), it looks bleak that kids will come out of it with any moral lesson other than "don't piss off superior alien life forms, you little brat". And that's the inconvenient truth Battle for Terra must grapple with.
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