Big Hero 6 (8/10): Another Disney classic with memorable characters

“Hello. I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion.”

I can’t avoid going into a Walt Disney Animation Studio film with high expectations considering they very rarely get it wrong, especially when John Lasseter is involved in the production. Big Hero 6 is their latest animated film, and this time they teamed up with Marvel so there was much more to get excited about. Big Hero 6 delivers everything it promised in the trailers: fun characters, stunning visuals, entertaining action scenes, and a lot of heart. Let me begin with the aspect of the film I found most fun: the characters. This is basically an origin superhero story about characters I had not heard about. They really don’t have special powers, but they are science enthusiasts who come up with great inventions. The lead character, Hiro Hamada, is all about making easy money as he destroys his opponents in robot battles, but when he meets his brother’s friends who are all working on cool science experiments he wants in. His brother has created a personal healthcare companion that looks more like a giant marshmallow than an actual robot. Its name is Baymax, and is by far the most endearing character in the film. Since it takes everything literally most of the comedy comes from it misinterpreting things (Marvel always has some character who behaves in this way) and the sweet way in which it reacts to different moments. It is the heart and soul of this film and the chemistry between it and Hiro is what elevates this film and makes it more endearing. Pretty much every character in this film has some sort of distinct personality and they all have their comedic moments. Big Hero 6 has its emotional moments as well as we deal with the death of one of the characters. It is standard at times and even predictable in the direction its heading, but it never ceases to entertain with a fun action-packed and comedic pacing. You have the superhero element on one hand and the touching relationship between Baymax and Hiro on the other. So there are several reasons why you can find it pleasing. It’s hard to avoid comparison with The Incredibles and I think it does live up to the same level of enjoyment we got from those memorable characters as well. 

So on the one hand you get plenty of action scenes because this is a superhero animated film where they face a mysterious villain, while on the other it remains emotionally engaging and touching with the center core relationship between this personal healthcare companion and Hiro. The film balances these moments extremely well and thanks to the memorable characters Big Hero 6 will surely become another classic from Disney Studios. I’ve focused my review on the narrative structure of the film, but I can’t leave out how good the visuals are here. The city where the action takes place is San Fransokyo, a combination of San Francisco and Tokyo. The architecture from both cities is combined here and makes for a gorgeous to look at futuristic city. I loved the way in which they blended these two styles together and the film looks amazing and culturally diverse. Add that to the charismatic characters and you have an instant classic. 

My Review: Let's Be Cops (3/10)

 “I look like somebody hit me in the face with Lil Wayne.”

Let’s Be Cops is a buddy comedy that falls flat as a feature length film and makes one wonder what the director and the rest of the crew were thinking when they decided to make this. I could understand how this might work as a short two to three minute sketch in Saturday Night Live, but you need much more than the simple premise to make an engaging full length film. I can honestly say that I laughed at two or three small scenes, but the rest of the jokes felt completely forced or out of beat. It was also rather unfortunate that once they  established a solid funny scene instead of building on that moment, the film was edited in such a way that every scene felt disconnected with the other. Let’s Be Cops also lacks originality and many of the jokes that didn’t even work in the first place are repeated throughout the film in a predictable manner. I assure you that you will laugh more from the trailers than during the entire film. There is a moment halfway through the film where the pacing also becomes an issue and you can’t wait for the credits to begin rolling. I tend to like films with this similar premise of people pretending to be cops (I was one of the few people who actually enjoyed Martin Lawrence’s Blue Streak), but the premise isn’t enough. Let’s Be Cops is just too tiresome, lazy, and repetitive. 

I haven’t watched Luke Greenfield’s prior films, Something Borrowed and The Animal, but I had really enjoyed The Girl Next Door. After this film I really don’t care too much for his upcoming projects because the directing was a major letdown. I know that a huge part of the success of these buddy comedies relies on the chemistry between the two lead actors, but there were several technical aspects of the film I had a problem with as well. The editing was poorly done, which hurt the overall flow and pacing of the film. The script was also a major letdown as none of the characters had any interesting or memorable lines that teenagers would be quoting for years to come. Nothing stands out either.

Jake Johnson and Damon Wayans Jr. might be great together in New Girl, but in Let’s Be Cops their scenes felt so forced that the comedic elements never work. If one of the best things about 22 Jump Street was the strong chemistry between Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill, then one of the worst things about this movie was the lack of chemistry between the two leads. Just thinking about this makes me want to give 22 Jump Street a higher grade. I wasn’t a huge fan of that sequel, but the chemistry was so strong that it worked. Not even the talented Andy Garcia was able to give a saving performance here. If Nina Dobrev continues to choose scripts like these for her next films, she might as well stick with The Vampire Diaries. The only character I sort of enjoyed here was Rob Riggle’s, but he wasn’t in this film very much. In summary, I would recommend you watch the trailer instead of the film because I promise the trailer has better editing and you will laugh more.