"The Mitchells Vs. The Machines" Expired on Delivery

 

    I say this in the nicest way possible when I say that I wish I loved this movie. On paper it has everything I want from a movie. I don't demand some super deep plot, what I really just want is something with cute themes, that's endearing and enjoyable to watch. However, I am sorry to report that The Mitchells vs. The Machines is held back by one fatal flaw that it had before it very conception: millennials. Look, I'm not here to bash millennials and say that they don't deserve anything written for them, but considering that this is supposed to be about a teenage girl who's going to university in 2020, I find it hard to believe that this film shouldn't have been set 10 or 20 years ago. Frankly, even if you do cringe at this film like I do, I'd still say watch this film, because honestly the animation is really pretty and vibrant and I'm sure you'll find something to enjoy in it.

    For those who are looking for a bit of a synopsis in case they might want to watch this film, the gist is basically this. A family, the Mitchells, is an oddball group with a zany cast of characters, and it centers around the fractured relationship between daughter and father, which is only further strained by the generational divide that exists between them and exacerbated by her decision to move out to go to film school. All of this, is in the backdrop of an apocalyptic-ish world, I mean it's been taken over by all of these killer robots, but they really just think humans are worthless, and because a machine was neglected. Honestly, this movie's plot has a lot of holes in it, and in my opinion, for it's many flaws, it should be one of those movies where you should just turn off your brain to enjoy it, because analyzing it won't do anyone favours, the movie just ends up like some beautiful barf, and you just end up examining a piece of media that clearly doesn't care enough to take itself that seriously.

    In exploring these themes I think the film does well, I think this idea that just because your child, or any loved one for that matter, might view the world through different means than you doesn't mean it's inherently wrong. Just because Katie explores the world through her silly films does not negate the fact that they have depth, and that they are how she expresses herself. Moreover, just because Katie feels as if she's been neglected and ostracized by a family that should accept her does not mean that she should be so selfish about the entire ordeal. I think family was by far the strongest theme in the film and it does it well. The other ones, especially regarding technology and corporations, are a bit too quick and short for my taste. I mean they get the point across, but they're too offhand to provide any real sort of commentary outside of acknowledging the very on the nose allegories contained within this film.

    Now, onto the humour, truly the Achilles film to what should be a fantastic film. There's no beating around the bush, it's too in your face, especially when it basically goes "look at me, I'm such a badass, or look at just how absolutely ridiculous it is that I carry a screwdriver". Not to mention, it's pretty much internet humour from 2000-2010. It's honestly impressive that the writers of this film were able to write it without ever once mentioning bacon, Nyan Cat or Chuck Norris, though they seemingly couldn't resist including pugs, which I assume is one of the writers pride and joy. I think by far the worst offender would be the inclusion of T.I.'s Live your Life as the big final song of bonding between the father and daughter. I mean that is by far the biggest indicator that if it wasn't for the fact that they were also trying to go for the evil tech companies/AI angle, this film would have just taken place in like 2005.

Final Score: 51/100

    I would have to say that the cringy parts in this film aren't as heavy handed as I make them out to be, and that for the majority of this film I was indeed just enjoying its visuals, which are indeed beautiful. As such, I will tentatively say I enjoyed this film, even if it was just a small, tiny bit. On a completely unrelated side note, when did it become such a crime to mention race as part of the story and just have all the characters seem as racially ambiguous as possible. Like I understand trying to make your story as appealing to as many people as possible, but I legitimately could not tell the race of any of the characters in the film, and it almost felt as if they used a random wheel to decide what race each character would be. Is this movie too woke? (The answer is no this isn't a complaint more just a random thing I saw) Ultimately, maybe you'll actually really enjoy this movie, I know a lot of people online did. Were they also possible millenials? How am I supposed to know, all I know is that this just felt like a film with the right themes but humour written for the generation before me. Perhaps if this film was set like 20 years before it actually was set in I'd be more accepting of it, but then the robot plot wouldn't really work as well, which is why I said don't think about this film's plot too much or else it'll quickly fall apart.