The Polar Express is a 2004 computer-animated Christmas adventure film and based on the 1985's children's book of the same name. The movie was produced by Castle Rock Entertainment, Shangri-La Entertainment, ImageMovers, Playtone, and Golden Mean Productions and distributed by Warner Bros. The Polar Express was written by Robert Zemeckis and William Broyles Jr. and directed by Robert Zemeckis.
The story is a young boy is having doubts about the existence of Santa Claus. Then on Christmas Eve, a train arrives at the boy's house, he then boards this train called The Polar Express which is heading to the North Pole. The boy is hoping to finally get his answers.
The story is a young boy is having doubts about the existence of Santa Claus. Then on Christmas Eve, a train arrives at the boy's house, he then boards this train called The Polar Express which is heading to the North Pole. The boy is hoping to finally get his answers.
- Negatives
I've got nothing to say. Let's move on.
- Mix
One thing that's a mix bag for me is "The Suite from The Polar Express". Now no I'm not gonna say the song itself is a max bag because it's not it's a very good piece of music, the mix bag comes from the fact that the movie has a habit of overplaying it. I mean almost felt like everytime something whimsical happened that song plays. Like I said it's by no means I bad song I just felt like it was just overused.
My other gray area with the movie is while the message is good there are times when it's just slightly preachy. With some scenes the message to the movie is just fine but then you have those others scenes where we're like "okay I get it, you don't need to hammer it in anymore."
- Positives
Now I'm going to be quite honest...I like the animation to The Polar Express. Now I do fully admit you'll most likely not love the moment you watch the movie but the more and more times you watch it the more you'll enjoy it. It really makes me laugh when people say "the animation is creepy". Come on folks, there are far worse and scarier pieces of animation out there (looking at you Foodfight and The Christmas Tree).
The other thing I enjoyed about the movie is the performances. The cast does a great job playing the children (although I do admit Know-It-All's voice can get very annoying), but the greatest performance comes from Tom Hanks. He's playing not one, not two, not three, not four but seven characters in the film and he plays all of them to perfection. Seriously, he's acting in the movie is quite possibility the biggest highlight of the movie.
The final thing I'll give the film credit is the amazing train scenes. When I first saw this movie as a kid I didn't expect so much action from this film. Those scenes where the train is going uncontrollably fast down a hill and when the train is sliding/drifting on ice that's breaking was awesome. It kind of felt like you were watching a roller coaster ride.
The Polar Express is by no means a perfect Christmas but there's just something about it you just can't help but watch and enjoy. The animation is good, the performances are great (especially from Tom Hanks), and those scenes where the train is in danger are definitely a thrill ride. The only mix bags are the music, mostly "The Suite from The Polar Express" being overused and the message being just a bit forced.
My final rating is Good
So that's all for me today. Come back on Dec 5th, Thursday for my Cinematic Disaster review of the Star Wars Holiday Special. Oh that one's going to be painful. Until then enjoy the rest of your day.
The other thing I enjoyed about the movie is the performances. The cast does a great job playing the children (although I do admit Know-It-All's voice can get very annoying), but the greatest performance comes from Tom Hanks. He's playing not one, not two, not three, not four but seven characters in the film and he plays all of them to perfection. Seriously, he's acting in the movie is quite possibility the biggest highlight of the movie.
The final thing I'll give the film credit is the amazing train scenes. When I first saw this movie as a kid I didn't expect so much action from this film. Those scenes where the train is going uncontrollably fast down a hill and when the train is sliding/drifting on ice that's breaking was awesome. It kind of felt like you were watching a roller coaster ride.
The Polar Express is by no means a perfect Christmas but there's just something about it you just can't help but watch and enjoy. The animation is good, the performances are great (especially from Tom Hanks), and those scenes where the train is in danger are definitely a thrill ride. The only mix bags are the music, mostly "The Suite from The Polar Express" being overused and the message being just a bit forced.
My final rating is Good
So that's all for me today. Come back on Dec 5th, Thursday for my Cinematic Disaster review of the Star Wars Holiday Special. Oh that one's going to be painful. Until then enjoy the rest of your day.
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