Saw Terra at the Toronto International Film Festival. Unlike, kickmekenneth, I was fine with the visuals, which seemed to me to be rather similar to The Incredibles. However, I agree that the plot was awful. I didn't find it "treacly and preachy". To me it seemed cliché and evil.
1) Cliché - Let's see. Planet of annoying cute aliens with seemingly primitive technology trying to defend their home. Check. Massive spherical shaped space vessel, which holds a "device" capable of destroying all life on a planet. Check. Annoying robot. Check. Useful robot. Check. A dictator seizes power from and dissolves the democratically elected governing body. Check. Practically identical foot soldiers that couldn't hit the broadside of a barn. Check. Father figure sacrifices himself to save the hero. Check. While under time constraints and attack from enemy fighters, the good guys must make a surgical strike to disable the "device". Check. The countdown clock even looks like the Yavin 4 display from Star Wars. The film even has the line "It's a trap!", delivered almost identically to Admiral Ackbar's line from Return of the Jedi. "I think George Lucas gonna sue somebody."
2) Evil - The Terrans have their fascist tendencies, but the basic underlying message of Terra is that using violence to get what you want is OK. General Hemmer is evil because he's willing to use violence to get what he wants. The Resistance is evil because it is willing to endanger the *entire human race* to get what they want. However, by far the worse moral of the story involves that fate of Lt. James Stanton. Apparently, Terra seems to suggest that the use of suicide attacks is an effective means to bring about regime change. In fact, the film seems to support the idea that actions of suicide attackers should be celebrated & immortalized by huge metal statues.
Basically Terra should have ended once Staton realized that Mala had learned the Earth Force language and saved his life. All he had to do was meet with the leadership and say "One of the aliens saved my life, knows our language, and can produce oxygen. If we talk with them, they will probably help us even though we abducted and dissect many of their fellow Terrans."
Would have saved a lot of trouble.
1) Cliché - Let's see. Planet of annoying cute aliens with seemingly primitive technology trying to defend their home. Check. Massive spherical shaped space vessel, which holds a "device" capable of destroying all life on a planet. Check. Annoying robot. Check. Useful robot. Check. A dictator seizes power from and dissolves the democratically elected governing body. Check. Practically identical foot soldiers that couldn't hit the broadside of a barn. Check. Father figure sacrifices himself to save the hero. Check. While under time constraints and attack from enemy fighters, the good guys must make a surgical strike to disable the "device". Check. The countdown clock even looks like the Yavin 4 display from Star Wars. The film even has the line "It's a trap!", delivered almost identically to Admiral Ackbar's line from Return of the Jedi. "I think George Lucas gonna sue somebody."
2) Evil - The Terrans have their fascist tendencies, but the basic underlying message of Terra is that using violence to get what you want is OK. General Hemmer is evil because he's willing to use violence to get what he wants. The Resistance is evil because it is willing to endanger the *entire human race* to get what they want. However, by far the worse moral of the story involves that fate of Lt. James Stanton. Apparently, Terra seems to suggest that the use of suicide attacks is an effective means to bring about regime change. In fact, the film seems to support the idea that actions of suicide attackers should be celebrated & immortalized by huge metal statues.
Basically Terra should have ended once Staton realized that Mala had learned the Earth Force language and saved his life. All he had to do was meet with the leadership and say "One of the aliens saved my life, knows our language, and can produce oxygen. If we talk with them, they will probably help us even though we abducted and dissect many of their fellow Terrans."
Would have saved a lot of trouble.