A 'war' not to be missed

War of the Worlds: Goliath (WOTWG) picked up the best 3D Film Festival Award at the Los Angeles 3D Film Festival recently, brushing aside Paranorman and Madagascar 3, and it was for a reason.

The movie premiered at the San Diego Comic Con festival in July and inked its name in the history books as the nation’s first ever sci-fi animated movie in digital stereoscopic 3D.

As the movie hits the silver screen nationwide today, animation enthusiasts should brace themselves for an exciting 3D and audio experience especially during the war scenes.

The film starts in the year 1899 when planet Earth is attacked by a group of martians leaving many dead with only one sole survivor Eric Wells, who returns to an alternate-reality of Manhattan, New York in 1914 as as a soldier.

Nevertheless, the humans were ready to face the Martians in the second attack. Led by an international army force known as A.R.E.S, they were equipped with iron-clad zeppelins, biplanes with heat-rays and steam-driven battle tripods. Along the line however, A.R.E.S discovered the Martians had elevated their weapons and battleship which only intensified the battles.

Some US$5 million (RM15.3 million) was spent to produce this film, a collaboration between Malaysia Venture Capital Management Berhad and Tripod Entertainment Sdn Bhd.

The pre-production, production and post-production processes were done in Malaysia and even a number of voiceover talents are Malaysians notably Tony Eusoff and Asha Gill.

Directed by animation veteran Joe Pearson, the 3D animation and sound effects created a memorable viewer experience especially during the war scene between A.R.E.S and the Martians.

It has a very 'international' feel the minute the movie starts. Audiences may not even realise it is a Malaysian-produced 3D film and would think it is a Hollywood production instead.

The only Malaysian element in the movie is the inclusion of Raja Iskandar Shah, a Bugis prince from the British colony of Malaya, who is featured in a praying scene and he has a single-line dialogue in Bahasa Malaysia.

Perhaps a sequel focusing on one of the character Patrick O' Brien and his tensed relationship with his brother Sean who had a fallout after Patrick joined A.R.E.S would be an interesting storyline in the next flick. It would also be interesting if more prominence is given to Raja Iskandar Shah in the next installment.

The pridictable story line aside, WOTWG is a must watch film for sci-fi fans and is certainly the future of animation film-making in the country.