Up

Review by Sean Lynch

It's not uncommon to come across a "Critic Proof" movie, that is, a flick which will make a bagful of cash no matter what reviews say about it.

Heck, just look at how successful flicks like National Treasure and G.I. Joe have been... and they were about as painful to endure as a conjugal visit from Kathy Griffin.

However, what is rare is coming across a movie which is "Critic Proof" for all the right reasons.

That being, flicks that are guaranteed to make $200M+... and more importantly... the quality of the movies are assured to be above excellent.

Disney Pixar's Up (in fact, any Disney Pixar movie) falls safely into that category.

From Disney Pixar comes Up, a comedy adventure about 78 year old balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen, who finally fulfills his lifelong dream of a great adventure, when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America.

But he discovers all too late that his biggest nightmare has stowed away on the trip; an overly optimistic eight year old Wilderness Explorer named Russell.

The beauty of Up is that not only does it surpass the film making quality of the sublime Wall-E (there is a heart achingly wonderful opening sequence which, like Wall-E, manages to captivate it's audience without a single word of dialogue) - but also manages to inject that colourful mainstream fun of Cars, Monsters Inc and The Incredibles. 

Which, admittedly, Wall-E seemed to lack.

Better yet, the use of Disney Digital 3D is astonishing. It's probably the first 3D film to truly expose the benefits of the new technology, with the textures and depth of materials so close and realistic - you can almost touch it (the woolen jumpers look mind blowingly good).

As usual, Pixar film's are simply miles ahead of anything else currently on screens - and Up is miles ahead of most Pixar films... so that's saying something.

Do not miss this!

4.5 out of 5

Up
Australian release: 3rd September, 2009
Official Site: Up
Cast: Christopher Plummer, John Ratzenberger, Edward Asner, Jordan Nagai, Paul Eiding
Director: Peter Docter & Bob Peterson