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SYNOPSIS: Arthur
is thrilled because tonight sees the end of the moon's tenth
cycle and he will at last be able to return to the land of
the Minimoys and be reunited with Selenia. In the village,
the Minimoys have prepared a huge banquet in his honor, and
the little princess has put on her rose petal dress.
But
Arthur's father chooses this eagerly awaited day to announce
that he is cutting short their vacation at Granny's house.
Then, as they are about to leave, a spider deposits a grain
of rice, with an S.O.S. engraved on it, in Arthur's hand.
There's
no doubt about it, Selenia is in danger! Arthur doesn't think
twice about flying to her rescue. Even if it means improvising
a perilous passage, falling head first into Max's bar, bumping
into the troops of Kröb, the new tyrant of the Seven
Kingdoms, saving Betameche's skin, fighting rats, frogs and
hairy spiders... Only to discover, when he arrives at the
Minimoy village, that they never sent him a call for help!
Who
could possibly have laid such a cunning trap for our young
hero?
MOVIE
REVIEW:
In between writing and producing action thrillers like “From Paris with Love”, “Taken” and “District 13: Ultimatum” for more mature audiences, Luc Besson takes time off to build his fanbase among the younger crowd with this family-friendly offering. “Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard” is a sequel to his earlier “Arthur and the Invisibles”, based on Besson’s two children books “Arthur and the Minimoys” and “Arthur and the Invisible City”- though unlike its predecessor, this sequel doesn’t have a literary source and was written by Besson direct for the screen.
The story begins with a lively animated sequence where the Minimoys, a group of tooth-sized elfin beings, are busy gathering food for a royal banquet. The banquet is really a welcome party for Arthur (Freddie Highmore), who is once again staying with his grandparents in the countryside for the holidays. Yes, for those who missed the first film, Arthur first made his acquaintance with the Minimoys then, and since saving their world, has been hailed as a hero and eagerly awaited for his return.
Arthur’s way back is with the Bogo Matassalai, a group of tribal people living in the woods behind the house who are capable of transforming a human into a Minimoy every tenth moon at midnight. But Arthur’s plans are temporarily scuttled when his dad announces that they will return back home one day earlier- though his determination to visit the Mininoys grows stronger when he receives a grain of rice from a spider with the message ‘Help’. Oh, there’s also the fact that his lover, Selenia (voiced by Selena Gomez), is waiting for him- their romance another consequence of his earlier adventure with the Minimoys.
Besson spends the first third of the film on Arthur’s persistence on returning to the Minimoys, which can be quite puzzling since it doesn’t seem to have any bearing on Maltazard’s revenge plot- as its title so implies. Then as Arthur finally re-enters their world, Besson spends the next third revisiting two popular supporting characters from the earlier film- Max (voiced by Snoop Dogg) who owns a bar and dance club for the Minimoys; and Prince Betameche (voiced by Jimmy Fallon) who is Selenia’s younger brother. Again, Arthur will take some time getting back to Selenia, and once again we are kept wondering where and what exactly is Maltazard’s revenge plot.
Of course, Besson distracts us from the ambiguity by peppering his Minimoy world with bizarre-looking, psychedelic-coloured characters that will quite likely leave the kids bemused and an action-packed chase sequence thrown in for good measure. Yet there’s no shaking off the feeling that Besson doesn’t seem to have much of a story to tell- and indeed, those suspicions are confirmed when Maltazard (also the villain from the first film) appears to reveal his nefarious plan and finally shed light on why this film is so titled.
There will be no resolution mind you- for Besson really intended this film to be the first of two sequels, with the latter “Arthur and the War of the Two Worlds” set for release later this year- think “The Matrix” sequels or the “Pirates of the Caribbean” sequels. That being the case, it probably isn’t fair for one to pronounce judgment on this before seeing the other- but going by how lean the material on display here, Besson would need to work really hard for the next film for him to justify our time spent watching this one.
Granted that this film was made for a younger crowd, but that’s no excuse for the pointless meandering in the first hour that could have simply have been shortened to half its length and maybe less. The animation too seems less polished than the first- perhaps as a result of rushing this to give enough lead time before the next film. Besson’s action movies have excelled at being lean and economical- unfortunately, there is none of this discipline on display here and the result is an almost futile affair that probably won’t even satisfy the kids, let alone any adult.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
NIL.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 but sounds muffled and indistinct, especially with the dialogues. Visuals could also do with some sharpening- as it is, the colours look dead onscreen.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Gabriel Chong
Posted on 2 August 2010
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