The Mitchells vs The Machines (Netflix) Movie Review & Comments

The more this sort of thing is treated as "just normal life stuff" as it is here, rather than being lamp-shaded, the better.

Spot on Tom. It's time that the non straight characters in movies and TV were just classed as normal people, not the stereotypical 'gay' cast member. They are a character that just happens to be gay, not a character that is specifically gay.
 
Spot on Tom. It's time that the non straight characters in movies and TV were just classed as normal people, not the stereotypical 'gay' cast member. They are a character that just happens to be gay, not a character that is specifically gay.
:smashin:
 
Whilst I enjoyed this and it made me chuckle quite a bit, I can't fully get aboard the love train on this one. The film seems at war with itself; riding the line between zany family comedy adventure (in the best Pixar tradition) and stupid, lowest-common-denominator kid fodder (reminding me of the worst of Dreamworks). Unfortunately the longer it went on, the more time it seemed to want to spend in the latter territory. Once they started flying around in the air and acting like ninjas (to Rhianna) I sort of checked out. Mum becomes a badass warrior for example (because, angry mom) and the dog/pig gag that was funny once becomes a repetitive and lazy plot point. I also never felt the sense of imperilment that I got from the Incredibles, as with this the scriptwriters are just going to do anything they like, free of consequence.

As a dad to a growing girl, this landed a few emotional hits, but the central conceit just immediately lost me: dad wants to discourage his daughter from her dream (which she'd already achieved!) because he's afraid of failure?? Huh? That's not how human relationships work. Also this conservative attitude doesn't gel with the idea that this is a quirky, unorthodox family. It would have made way more sense if the dad had wanted the girl to be a carpenter, teaching her woodwork and grooming her for a career in that- only for her to lose interest and want to be a filmmaker. In short, there were few of the relatable family struggles of, say, the Parr family to be found here.

I did enjoy the tech vs outdoors stuff, and the film does find a balance there. Also I enjoyed all the irreverent swipes at Silicon Valley. "its almost as if big tech companies dont have our best interests at heart". I also love anything involving Olivia Colman, who can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned. The animation style is also great. It just feels too in love with itself, and gets ever-so-slightly lazy in the second half.


6.5/10
 
Was good but not a patch on the similarly themed The Incredibles for me. At least in the case of Pixar's superb superhero movie they had, well, superpowers and that explained the things they could do and added and extra dimension to the family dynamic.
Here, they start off as a dysfunctional regular family but magically get superhero-esque powers from nowhere, because.. plot. The dog-pig-bread thing got tiresome alright.
6/10 from Quest.
 
Was good but not a patch on the similarly themed The Incredibles for me. At least in the case of Pixar's superb superhero movie they had, well, superpowers and that explained the things they could do and added and extra dimension to the family dynamic.
Here, they start off as a dysfunctional regular family but magically get superhero-esque powers from nowhere, because.. plot. The dog-pig-bread thing got tiresome alright.
6/10 from Quest.
I couldn't get through the incredibles, but loved this.
 
The Incredibles was a clever deconstruction of both Superhero and Bond tropes, combined with an all too relatable study of the nuclear family, growing pains, getting old, and family commitment; with retro 50s styling and smart observational comedy.

This attempts something similar, but doesn't have anywhere near the sophistication imo. One thing I can't bear about many modern animated films is when they have an action or dance sequence set to some contemporary pop track, which is presented as if it's 'the most entertaining thing ever'. In fact it's the laziest and most tiresome animated trope.

Don't want to sell it too short as it was entertaining enough and occasionally funny, but its decidedly sub Parr compared to the best.
 
Loved it. Agree it was a tad over long but it’s not often I laugh out loud at animated films, I did with this one.
 
Animation-wise I cannot fault it. Absolutely terrific blend of styles. This and Spiderverse are really putting the artistry back into CG animation and I applaud them both.

Made me laugh a few times, usually when the dog was involved. HOWEVER...

The normally underlying messaging about friends or family or relationships that you'll typically find in a Pixar production was writ so large here I felt like I was being bludgeoned over the head with it. By about halfway through I was shouting at the screen 'Yeah, I get it, we all gotta change a little to get along with family'. And by the end I was just exhausted by it.

It was the same message repeated and repeated and repeated over and over again both in the main scenes and in the side-skits. A lot more showing and not telling, a lot more subtlety, would have done this movie no end of good.

I would still recommend it, though. 10/10 for the animation, 5/10 for the film overall.
 
Really enjoyed this. Personally, I think this was aimed at a younger audience than your average Pixar movie so comparisons to 'The Incredibles' are a little unfair. I laughed a lot and as a father of a 16 year daughter with university in her sights, it had quite an emotional punch. 8/10
 
finally watched something on a streaming service that had some laugh out loud moments👍
 
Special shout out to the sound designers for some really rather decent bottom-end for those of us with subs :lesson:
 
Really enjoyed this. Personally, I think this was aimed at a younger audience than your average Pixar movie so comparisons to 'The Incredibles' are a little unfair. I laughed a lot and as a father of a 16 year daughter with university in her sights, it had quite an emotional punch. 8/10

I don't think the target demographic was different at all (basically everybody). It's a completely fair comparison.
 
I don't think the target demographic was different at all (basically everybody). It's a completely fair comparison.
To my mind, just because The Incredibles (and Pixar films in general) can be watched and enjoyed by anyone doesn't necessarily mean that it's aimed at children. An adult will get so much more of what's going on than a child ever would. I can't think of many films that compare well against Pixar either.
 
Really enjoyed this, lots of laugh out loud moments, and will be getting a rewatch to see all the visual gags I missed. Agree it's a bit baggy, and could easily have been 10-15 minutes shorter. As the father of teenage girls, it may have hit quite close to home at some points.

Overall, a solid 8/10 - any film that has a They Live gag in it is going to do well
 
I couldn't get through the incredibles, but loved this.
I liked the Incredibles, but for me it’s overrated. Never got through the 2nd. Was bored to tears in the beginning.

Loved this though. Some proper laugh out loud moments and my daughter and I were crying at the
“catch the phone” moment with the dog/pig/toaster.

it did feel a bit long and perhaps it was actually too long, but it kinda got started early on with the shopping mall scene.
 
Gonna concur with thinking Incredibles is overrated. Very dull, second one was even worse. Mega mind was was way better.
 
Thanks for the review.....really enjoyed this with the family yesterday.....kids laughed their heads off regularly as did the parents.
 

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