Huievest
Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.
Arianna Moses
Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.
Sienna-Rose Mclaughlin
The movie really just wants to entertain people.
Dana
An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
bbickley13-921-58664
I went to go see this movie because Kevin Eastman's name was attached to it. Kevin Eastman just in case you don't know created the Ninja Turtles with Peter Lard and is also the publisher of Heavy Metal Magazine. Whenever I think of Heavy Metal magazine I always think of hotly drawn scantily clad girls, and was expecting that in the adult themed animation, but of course adult does not just mean nude girls. Lucky for me this movie did not disappoint when I realized that.In fact, only one woman was featured in this all-star cast made up of actors from the TV show Highlander. Elizabeth Gracen, who played Amanda on the show and its spin-off, The Raven, played the one woman, while the highlander himself, Adrian Paul toke a side step as a supporting charter. Also Jim Brynes who played Dawson on the show, and is a voice-acting veteran by now, also has a part in the film.It's a really awesome premise. The movie acts as a sequel to War of the Worlds taking place 15 years after the events of the H.G. Wells novel in a steam punk influenced world where the human race creates an organization to train solders to prepare for another Martian attack just in case it happens. In a time and place when the "issues" that would lead to the First World War are causing conflict with the solders in this organization, which consist of men and women from every country in the world, the solders come together to train in war games only for the Martians to pick that time to attack again.The movie has a slow start as it tends to run on with it's explanation as to what's going on in the world, but form the beginning the movie was awesome to look at as the animation, which was a blend of traditional animation and CGI and the art design, especially that which focused on a steam punk vibe was as good as the stuff in Heavy Metal Magazine.Thought the 3D is not worth the price the action is. The battle scenes in the movie were great, not just from the animation point of view but it was very dramatic in it's story telling.A total thumbs up!
Jeff Conner
I've seen this film twice, in theatres, in 3D, and loved it both times. The 3D is really good, and the production values far exceed the film's modest budget. As a steampunk sequel to the Wells classic, Mr. Pearson and his team have nothing to apologize for. I know that some find it hard to accept the blending of 2D hand-animation with 3D CGI (for the mecha) but this technique has been done before with both Korean and Japanese theatrical anime. As WOTW Goliath was animated in Malaysia, it fits right in with these other examples. I hope that western viewers will be able to check their prejudgements and enjoy the film for what it is.
vampyralic
I am an ardent movie-goer and when someone told me of a USA-Malaysia collaboration of an indie animation film project, I was intrigued. For one thing, I know how difficult it is to get to the point where indie projects DO get made, and that would involve money, time, a lot of passion and tons of support from all directions. For another thing, I am a fellow South-East Asian and I am always looking to help boost signals of the range of artistic talent and wonderful stories that belong to our geographical area.It so happened that I was invited to the special preview at last year's Comic-Con and I cleared my busy hectic SDCC schedule just to make it there.For the budget that it had, "War of the Worlds: Goliath" (WotW:G) was entertaining fare. I went to the premiere being practically realistic and didn't expect to be totally Wow-ed as if I was a cinema audience watching a Pixar movie. But I was surprised at how good "WotW:G" turned out to be.Yes, some parts of the dialogue were stilted but it got a little more fluid about a third into the movie. The movie didn't waste time on too much prose but was centred on lots of action, warfare and those "hey, you are my bro, man" kinda moments. Very "guy" stuff.I had thought the addition of Raja Iskandar Shah would be the typical token-Asian stereotype but then, he also started using a kris in some key fight scenes.. that's when all bets are off ;)The animation was a mix of 2D-3D.. if you are used to watching anime, it is not really distracting. (Again, this is not a Disney production - nor meant to be!) And I loved the futuristic steampunk concept artwork that was applied quite consistently throughout the film. After all the guns and smoke and explosions that marked most of the movie, the beautiful music scoring for "WotW:G" was something that nailed the emotion and heart of the entire story. At least for me.Watching "WotW:G" gave me some hope --- the mix of styles/ mediums and characters showed how various work in films can cross "the East-West divide" in a positive and unique way. Here's to more successful collaborations like these in the future.
Bluesman14
I had the chance to see a special preview screening of the film during the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con. I had been privy to concept art and preview footage since 2007. Joe Pearson and Leon Tan did a great job of bringing this story to life and I sincerely hope they continue to bring us great entertainment like this. My first exposure was to Joe Pearson's anime film, "Highlander: Search for Vengeance" through the Official Highlander Message Board. I have been a fan of all types of animation since my early child hood when I would watch the short subject cartoons in the dark of my local movie houses. Those childhood memories inspired me later on in life to pursue a career as am amateur artist and join the San Diego Comic Con in 1977.I also wrote an article on this film for Impact Online Magazine which you can read at; www.impactonline.co/news/851-sdcc-wotw-goliath-stands- tall