ROTTEN TOMATOES: Review Revue: Can WALL-E Eclipse Iron Man AND Take On Angelina Jolie?

Review Revue: Can WALL-E Eclipse Iron Man AND Take On Angelina Jolie?

Pixar's lovable robot attempts to dodge Wanted's bending bullets.

by Jen Yamato | June 27, 2008

Two Fresh picks await you this weekend: Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy's bullet-bending assassin thriller Wanted, and Pixar's latest classic-in-the-making, WALL-E, which may eclipse Iron Man as the best-reviewed movie of the year so far. But what are the critics saying? Watch the Review Revue to find out!

We're lucky to have not one, but two well-received films opening this weekend: a tender story of robot love (Pixar's WALL-E), and a tender story of super-powered assassins (Wanted, from the director of Russia's sci-fi phenomenon, Night Watch). But can a pint-sized robot put the smackdown on killers who bend bullets (and look like Angelina Jolie)?

Watch this week's Review Revue below, and tell us which opening flick you'll be seeing this weekend: Wanted or WALL-E?

Also, see where Wanted femme fatale Angelina Jolie measures up in our list of the 25 Best Action Heroines of All Time. (Hint: tough gals Pam Grier, Sigourney Weaver, and Cynthia Rothrock also made the cut.) Who's the baddest chick of them all?

And check back next week as we discuss the finer points of alcoholism and superheroes (Will Smith's Hancock), and ponder what Dakota Fanning thinks of the new Dakota Fanning, Abigail Breslin (Kit Kittredge: An American Girl Movie).

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(1-20 of 49 posts) | Reply

NeoBasch writes:
on Jun 27 2008 06:19 PM

I'll be seeing both. Actually, I already saw WALL-E. Thought it was one of the best movies of all time. I'll be seeing Wanted tomorrow. We'll see what I think about it then. I may just go see WALL-E again sometime next week. Such a good movie. :D While I'm at it, let me throw in my guess for how much each will gross.

WALL-E: 72-75 Mil
Wanted: 45-48 Mil

Next week, is when it will get interesting. I predict both will do even better then.

(Reply to this)

Zen Bullet writes:
on Jun 27 2008 09:39 PM

I saw both today.

First, I don't think I've outright hated a movie as much as "Wanted" since the debut of "Bad Boys 2". It was unnecessarily bitter and vulgar. I didn't care about the characters and just wanted them to die so that the movie would end. The film directing served simply to push points that were already too obvious on the written page (the boss lady, for one). And I've decided that there needs to be a rewrite to the ol' adage "don't insult the intelligence of your audience". In this case it's simply: "Please don't insult the audience, period." . . . something this film has the gall to do, and for no apparent reason except to promote an edgy posture.

Wall-E, like all of Pixar's films, was better than anything emerging from competing studios. But I'm only in love with the first third of the film. The rest was at times ill-conceived, narratively wayward, and a bit of a letdown considering what might have been possible. Aside from Cars, this might be my least favorite Pixar movie. It felt like such a missed opportunity (including what might have been a bittersweet conclusion, such as in "Titanic", that lost its punch to the gut when it was played as a tease instead of a thematically poignant moment). The movie could have been a home run, and instead I left it with a warm, but not very satisfied aftertaste. Still, it was entertaining enough. Just not a classic.

(Reply to this)

ChrisBradford writes:
on Jun 27 2008 10:09 PM

I will not be able to comment on "Wanted" because I'm not a real fan of action thrillers. As to WALL*E's almost poignant ending, I was relieved when the near tragedy was averted. Warm movies just shouldn't have bitter-sweet endings, such endings feel like a betrayal more often than not.

(Reply to this)

nblarson writes:
on Jun 27 2008 10:50 PM

I just saw "Wanted" and it was surprisingly forgettable, considering how it has been critically lauded for its action and intensity. There were particular moments in the film that caught my attention, but in the end that is all the movie was, a loose collection of interesting tid-bits strewn about an otherwise uncompelling and, at times bland, film.

Although, I must confess, seeing Jolie's naked backside and listening to Morgan Freeman utter "mother f***er" almost convinced me it was worth the $6.95.

Almost.

(Reply to this)

smi1ey writes:
on Jun 27 2008 10:50 PM

seeing wanted tomorrow, will probably see wall-e soon after. i'm expecting to be quite satisfied with both. great show guys! :)

(Reply to this)

baufan2005 writes:
on Jun 27 2008 11:44 PM

I disagree on it doing better next week. Hancock will eat into it's box office revenue. I don't think Hancock will be any good, but their are enough Will Smith fans that love his movies to give him a huge chunk.

(Reply to this)

mberko1 writes:
on Jun 28 2008 12:36 AM

In reply to this comment (#1819621)
6.95? was that for the popcorn?

(Reply to this)

TheIceGhost writes:
on Jun 28 2008 12:55 AM

I just got back from Wall-E, and this is what I have to say about it:

Pixar's WALL-E is easily, easily, the best Pixar movie ever made - and I realize that's a pretty bold statement in and of itself. Yet there's more, because in fact, WALL-E could be arguably one of the best films of the past 20, 30 years. Heck, I want to let it sit a little bit longer before making this claim, but right now? I think it could find a spot among the greatest movies ever made. And that's no exaggeration.

From the moment the classic Cinderella Castle appears (which has never looked better, by the way) to the evolution of art in the credits (from caveman art to pixel art), this is the kind of movie, that restores your faith in movies.

It's the kind of movie that the world desperately needs right now. It's the kind of movie that art schools will be dissecting for decades and the kind of movie we'll be showing our kid's kids.

It's beautiful. It's epic film making. It's, it.

See WALL-E.

I repeat, see, WALL-E.

(Reply to this)

TheIceGhost writes:
on Jun 28 2008 01:04 AM

And yes, I realize how glowing my thoughts are, and I hate "reviews" like that, but seriously, I don't see how Pixar will ever top this.

..There's a few tiny nitpicks people could make (and probably will, because people like to knock things down a peg whenever possible), but in the end it does so much right that, I dunno, it'd almost be asinine to do so.

You really can't get much better then WALL-E. Why? Because humans aren't perfect, and thus, neither can our movies.

But we can get pretty close sometimes, and I think WALL-E is a pretty darn good example of that. :)

(Reply to this)

nyr148699 writes:
on Jun 28 2008 01:58 AM

Saw Wall-E and will be seeing Wanted at some point this weekend. Wall-E was amazing; easily a 5 out of 5.

(Reply to this)

akatsuki writes:
on Jun 28 2008 02:44 AM

I've only watched wanted, wall e, not released in my region yet. I don't even know the date it is going to be released! Anyway, Wanted debutted here on 26 June and i watched it on the day. What i can say is that it is pretty much an average action thriller. Several moments are rather cliche...But listening to Morgan Freeman's "Shoot this motherf****r" is just pure entertainment! Favourite catchphrase in the movie. Overall, it is quite okay.

Needless to say, Wall E, will definitely be much better. Looking forward to it!

Initial reviews for Hancock are rather bad, judging from one guy who wrote, "end of Will Smith career"???? Its a bold statement, is it that bad? If it is, is it so bad that it discredit Will Smith's career? HEY! Whats wrong with these people?!?!?!

(Reply to this)

akatsuki writes:
on Jun 28 2008 02:51 AM

I've only watched wanted, wall e, not released in my region yet. I don't even know the date it is going to be released! Anyway, Wanted debutted here on 26 June and i watched it on the day. What i can say is that it is pretty much an average action thriller. Several moments are rather cliche...But listening to Morgan Freeman's "Shoot this motherf****r" is just pure entertainment! Favourite catchphrase in the movie. Overall, it is quite okay.

Needless to say, Wall E, will definitely be much better. Looking forward to it!

Initial reviews for Hancock are rather bad, judging from one guy who wrote, "end of Will Smith career"???? Its a bold statement, is it that bad? If it is, is it so bad that it discredit Will Smith's career? HEY! Whats wrong with these people?!?!?!

(Reply to this)

CaptainSiberia writes:
on Jun 28 2008 03:09 AM

I think it's a bit late to do Kit Kittredge, but ok. Having a longer Review Revue was absolutely the right move to make. You guys really have a sense of what makes the films tick, and that comes through now.

But I can't focus anymore because that Google search in Wanted bothered me to no end. He entered Wesley Gibson and got no results. Come on! You enter it like that, of course you'll get results! You'll get all kinds of irrelevant results! Every page that has both the words Wesley and Gibson! He didn't use any boolean logic! You have to search "Wesley Gibson" inside quotation marks in order to find the exact phrase! Come on!

(Reply to this)

akatsuki writes:
on Jun 28 2008 03:33 AM

I've only watched wanted, wall e, not released in my region yet. I don't even know the date it is going to be released! Anyway, Wanted debutted here on 26 June and i watched it on the day. What i can say is that it is pretty much an average action thriller. Several moments are rather cliche...But listening to Morgan Freeman's "Shoot this motherf****r" is just pure entertainment! Favourite catchphrase in the movie. Overall, it is quite okay.

Needless to say, Wall E, will definitely be much better. Looking forward to it!

Initial reviews for Hancock are rather bad, judging from one guy who wrote, "end of Will Smith career"???? Its a bold statement, is it that bad? If it is, is it so bad that it discredit Will Smith's career? HEY! Whats wrong with these people?!?!?!

(Reply to this)

707PG13 writes:
on Jun 28 2008 03:56 AM

Oh no! next week's review revue features Will Smith vs. Abigail Breslin!? Will Abigail Breslin take Will Smith's July 4th weekend championship belt away from him!? Must check the odds in Vegas...

(Reply to this)

pate writes:
on Jun 28 2008 05:21 AM

In reply to this comment (#1820211)
Dont you just hate it (and love it a little) when people just dont get what is being done on screen? the whole joke's on you buddy. if the google thing was the only thing that made you question the logic of the film you need to seek help now. he didn't find any results because it was suppose to show the audience how much of a looser he really was. it was pushed to that extreme purposefully. i'm guessing you also think that the atm machine really spoke to him too right? man cmon get with the program. its always fun when someone complains about movies insulting their audience and finding out that at least someone deserve to be insulted... maybe with fewer of those comments we can look forward to better movies aswell. supply and demand man!

(Reply to this)

nblarson writes:
on Jun 28 2008 09:54 AM

In reply to this comment (#1819892)
Luckily us midwesterner's don't pay the exorbitant prices most big coastal cities do...yet. We can still catch matinee's in the $4-5 range and shell out $2-3 dollars for a soda. I did experience some serious price shock when I lived in Australia, though, where I was paying AUD $14-20 a ticket.

Look forward to seeing Wall-E, definitely looks like something special, and it's been far too long since cinema as awed me.

(Reply to this)

mouse_clicker writes:
on Jun 28 2008 10:07 AM

In reply to this comment (#1819975)
I just want to say that I absolutely agree with everything TheIceGhost said. I also want to respond to the criticism that the movie loses focus or changes too much after the first act. I completely disagree. The setting changes, but you have to keep in mind what this movie is primarily and what it is secondarily-- it is a science fiction movie secondarily and a love story primarily. The contemplative science fiction sections of the first act give way to the love story taking the center stage it deserves aboard the Axiom. But it's not sudden, it's not jarring. It's done naturally, it's done smoothly, and it's done without losing track of the ultimate goal, building Wall-E and EVE's relationship.

As for missing out on a bittersweet ending, ala Titanic, I would like to point out that was used in TITANIC, a disgustingly overdone and nauseating love story. Rather, *Wall-E* is how *Titanic* should've been done: sweet and touching, yet subtle and reserved. Don't beat the audience over the head with lovey-dovey scenes one after another, it's unrealistic, unbelievable, and rings hollow after a while. Show the love growing in other ways. Make it count. Give them a reason to be in love. That's what Wall-E does, and it does it extraordinarily well. I think Wall-E's plot took the natural course to best tell its story.

(Reply to this)

u1sart writes:
on Jun 28 2008 10:31 AM

In reply to this comment (#1819404)
wat would u do to make the movie better....?

(Reply to this)

u1sart writes:
on Jun 28 2008 10:37 AM

In reply to this comment (#1819404)
I think WANTED was a fine action movie... had alot of good gun toting scenes which was really necessary. but i think it should have done more, i mean a more suttle approach to being an ultimate assasin, that can curve bullets and stuff. if it had gotten a direction like the matrix or even like different assassin foundation warring against each other that would be a really thrilled action packed movie. id give it a 31/2 out of 5

(Reply to this)

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