Ark (2005)

Simply Perfect

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

This review has spoilers, I'm writing this a second time just so that people will know this fact.This movie, has as much value as taking a number 2 in a public toilet in an underdeveloped country. Actually, no, that has more value. Because what we have here, is very choppy and disorientating animation (which actually makes Gumby 1 - the 1995 clay animated movie of the titular Gumby - and Cool World - the 1992 Ralph Bakhshee movie look far better in comparison), and a story so clichéd it makes you vomit out of how much dedication the production team put in - which is to say, none.So what do we have as a story? Prophesy child which will save the world of two mob like races who can't get along with each other. Let's call them race A and race B. A is stuck on an Ark (the title of the movie) while B has been exiled from it (if they are a part of the resistance) or turned into slaves (if they're on the Ark), and B holds onto the hope that their leader (some woman whose name I don't remember and don't care to remember either) will come back to life to lead them to Paradise. And typical of prophesy child movies, the child is a complete waste of time. Add to this, a villain whose purpose of existing is to molest the child (suggestive, not explicit), a hero whose a part of the resistance by B, and A which is run by a really stupid queen (and are in control of a city) who doesn't listen to her cronies (lady, if you elect cronies, at the very least LISTEN TO THEM) and - spoiler! spoiler! spoiler! - she gets killed (really late in the movie, but still). As is expected by a prophesy child movie, the ship comes to life, everyone gets carried to a new place (A AND B both), and we all live happily ever after.Now, what's the problem? Long drawn out narration mentions and explains (as does THE WHOLE MOVIE!!!) that there is a problem between A and B. But doesn't conclude it AT ALL - the ending, therefore, is forced. Then, the details of HOW THE PROPHESY CHILD GOT ITS POWERS ARE NEVER EXPLAINED!! Furthermore, because of the choppy animation, it makes me wonder why they made such an attempt at a movie AT ALL?! The worst part is the voice acting - amateurish, at best; ear rape, at worst. Even with the already dead-as-a-rock plot, the actors leave no trace of doubts that clichés will be used to get from start to finish. The prophesy child has daddy issues, and daddy has a pervert for a boss who thinks (and is suggested in awkward ways) that... I don't even know what he thinks. He just... does his thing. That is all that can be said.In the end, don't waste download space or money on this crap. Really, don't. Instead, watch something better. Watch a classic, like Dick Tracy (1990). If you would like a mildly bearable movie watch Titan A.E. (2000) which has a more involving storyline and a better progression (and DOESN'T HAVE A RETARDED PROPHESY CHILD WHICH HAS BITCHY FATHER ISSUES), and is a better story as well. This movie, is god awful. It is simply NOT WORTH YOUR TIME!

There have been scores of Asian animation movies that had good looks, good stories and good directing, but I didn't start up watching Ark by having those kind of expectations. When I saw that the animation was all 3D computer generated I winced, but I said I should give the movie a chance, maybe the story is good. I even forgave the idiotic pseudo-scientific talk that meant nothing. But what I can't forgive is how stupid the story was.OK, ignore the fact that the faces of the animated figures had the expressivity of a dead cow. That has nothing to do with it. No situation was actually emotionally powerful. Watching this film is like playing with dolls. Even worse, it's like watching a 4 years girl play with dolls and expecting you to feel and see what she does.Therefore this movie might be nice for people under the age of 5, maybe lobotomized children of 10, but that's how far this goes.

I watched this film specifically because I saw that James Woods was in it. I was not aware that it was an animated feature before hand. The art and design of the film is quite good. The animation is reminiscent of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. The character design is like watching a cinematic on a really good video game. The problem with this film is the story. The story is silly and doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. There is enough action to keep me engaged while watching, but the story lacks originality and coherence. I also found that I didn't care about the characters. They all seemed thin and lacking humanity. I would have liked to see this film as a live action piece. I think that that might have improved it.

Ark is the story of two opposing groups of people who both survive the devastation of their world. One group dominates the other, creating a master/servant (more like slave) relationship. Both half believe in a prophecy that tells of a priestess who will arise to lead them to another world.The story unfolds rather well, with a prologue of sorts showing one of the ruling class breaking the rules to save some cryogenically stored children of the underclass. Actually, he only manages to save one, who becomes his daughter. You can probably already guess that she's destined to become the saviour of the people, but the story doesn't allow itself to be rushed, developing quite nicely the characters and plots.The animation isn't up to the standard of say, Final Fantasy, but it is very good nonetheless, and has a distinctive feel to it which goes a long way to increasing its effectiveness. The machinery on display is quite inventive, especially the war machines.The only thing which drags the movie down a little is the "big battle" at the end between the giant robots. This is just plain silly, given the quite gritty feel to the rest of the story, and doesn't (in my mind) do the movie any favours.But the rest is plenty enjoyable, if rather predictable. If you like CGI moves, then this one will entertain you.