Big Picture Big Sound

The Flies Have It

Going to the movies used to be something special.  Comfy seats, competent projectionists and the promise of a visual and sonic feast which couldn't be replicated at home.  But things in the cinema have gone downhill while the state of home theater has improved.  Now, with gas prices and theater admission prices looming large, and the prospect of your outing being ruined by rowdy fellow patrons or failures in projection technology, a trip to the movies is becoming less compelling.  To differentiate itself from the far more convenient home theater experience, movie makers -- and cinema owners -- must find something unique to bring people back into theaters.  And good use of 3D technology may be just the ticket (pun intended), as you will see in Fly Me to the Moon. 

When film-makers bring 3D into the mix, there's always the temptation to wow the audience with in-your-face 3D effects that make us jump or reach out to touch objects that seem to float in space.  Sometimes these devices come at the expense of story telling.  Happily the 3D effects in Fly Me to the Moon support the story, drawing the audience in, in a way that transcends what's possible with a mere two dimensions.  This is not to say that the 3D effects are not impressive or well done -- quite the opposite -- I found myself reaching toward the screen more than once as the occasional small flower, tiny fly or massive rocket encroached on my personal space. But the medium itself is not the focus of this animated adventure, the story is. 

But alas the story -- or at least, its pacing -- is also its weakness.  Presented as the tale of three flies who hitch a ride to the moon on the backs (and shoulders) of the famous Apollo 11 astronauts, and the struggle of those on the ground to bring them home safely, the film seems more an homage to the American space program in its glory days of the late 1960s.  The care taken in recreating famous shots such as Neil Armstrong's first steps (and hops) on the lunar surface is evident.  But did it have to take soooooo long to show this to us?  One small step for man, indeed, followed by a few more small steps, a hop, another hop, etc.  It's one thing to pay tribute to the seemingly superhuman feats of a bygone era, but it's quite another to get bogged down in minutiae at the expense of telling a story. 

But there are more than a few moments that make up for these elongated animated reenactments.  Shots of our three lead characters doing an improvised synchronized swimming routine in the weightlessness of space were quite humorous and well orchestrated to the tune of Strauss' Blue Danube Waltz (a la 2001: A Space Odyssey).  But the drawn out sequence of the Apollo spacecraft approaching lunar orbit, the lunar excursion module being extricated from its housing and separating from the command module for its descent to the lunar surface just felt a little too long, as impressive as it was in its attention to technical detail. 

But before judging the film too harshly, I must take into consideration the  intended audience.  At the press screening I attended, the normally sedate and perhaps somewhat jaded crew of film critics was supplemented by scores of regular folks (and their kids), including Mr. Big Picture Big Sound 2.0 himself, Brendan Boylan (now 4 1/2 years old).  And judging by his reaction and those of the other children present, the film is sure to be popular with kids this summer.  There was enough kid-friendly action (not to mention the occasional fart and burp jokes) to keep the kids entertained for the entire time.  And if they learn a little something about space exploration along the way, then is that such a bad thing?