Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Sam Adams on Wreck-It Ralph



Article reviewed: Wreck-It Ralph, Sam Adams, City Paper


Mr. Adams opens his review with a creatively constructed comment regarding the relationship between Disney and Pixar by pointing out that Wreck-It Ralph is the most “Pixarian” Disney, while the previously released Brave was “the most Disneyfied of Pixar movies. From there he flows into a colorfully worded overview of the movie's first act. He concisely covers the necessary backgrounds of the primary characters before briefly touching upon the secondary characters, and gives only as much information as needed to connect which character he's referring to with the one you saw in the preview.

The second half of Adams' article is much quicker and to-the-point than the first, starting with his thoughts on the cookie-cutter nature of the movie's plot. He warns of a surprise-less outcome and recycled story, adding that the movie's smaller details are “far more engaging” than the broader strokes. The treatment of nostalgic arcade references along with the unimaginative backdrop left him understandably unimpressed; however, despite his sarcastic verbiage, he seems content with what he watched.

I found myself very entertained by Mr. Adams’ pithy summary of this standard fare Disney release. His adjective laden description is cleverly written and his analysis of the film is surprisingly insightful considering it was covered in only a few sentences. What impressed me the most though was how Adams seemed to play on the movie's alliterative title by scattering subtle alliterations of his own throughout the article, like the "Donkey Kong doppelganger” that is a "sad sack, not a misunderstood monster.” I admire the style and personality that Adams writes with and I am curious to see how he uses it in other reviews.

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