Battle For Terra 3D
(PG) 78min
Having festered on the shelf since its April 2009 US release, Battle For Terra 3D arrives in our cinemas to cash in on the current wave of enthusiasm for three-dimensional cinema, and specifically Avatar, although Canadian director Aristomenis Tsirbas evidently put in considerably less time and effort than James Cameron.
Like Avatar, Battle for Terra concerns a war fought for the resources of a far-off planet between greedy, warlike humans and peaceful aliens. Space soldier Jim Stanton (Luke Wilson) crash-lands on Terra, only to form a bond with Mala (Rachel Evan Wood). Jim soon learns to love the alien and takes her side against the genocide perpetrated by the earthlings.
Idly wondering exactly how Jim and the tadpole-shaped Mala might consummate their burgeoning romance just about passes the time while Battle For Terra’s convoluted and dumb plot is briskly but blandly unfolded. Yet, while the 3D animation is as pretty and headache-inducing as usual, the slavishly-copied narrative eventually yields naive charm that recalls cheesy Star Wars knock-offs The Humanoid and Battle Beyond The Stars.
General release from Fri 12 Feb.