This is not a great movie, but it is a good one. Pearson sets out to tell the story of the second Martian invasion, with humanity using salvaged Martian technology and advances in their own to defend the world more actively than last time. He sets this against the dawn of what in our world would be the First World War. That serves only as backdrop, though. The incipient conflict in Europe, the problem of Irish home rule, and other issues get forgotten partway through the movie. That's okay. They were distractions, and would have detracted from the main story. This is a war movie, not a political drama. It has all the requisite elements of Japanese, American, and British war movies, all the tropes, all the conflicts, and manages to deliver them without becoming a muddle. We have the heroic yet damaged young officer proving himself and overcoming his past. We have the somewhat inappropriate relationship between comrades in arms. We have explosions, heroics, self-sacrifice, and triumph but at a terrible cost. The story of the initial invasion is told briefly, in the credits, ending with an atomic shadow on a wall in a burning city. Pearson moves straight from there to the action getting rolling, and keeps the pacing fairly tight, letting the audience catch their breath but just barely before throwing in the next assault. The film contains what it says on the tin. There's a lot to be said for that.And hey, any movie with Theodore Roosevelt firing a heavy machine gun while riding atop a walking tank scores points with me.

How do I kill a world renowned story of Martians invading earth, taking over the planet only the be killed by the humblest of organisms? I know, get rid of that last part, it actually has substance, add in big robots and guns, and we've done it. Honestly, this may as well not be War of the Worlds. Had those tripods been replaced by an original character, it might have been a little better, but the themes of War of the worlds have nothing to do with it. Its nothing like the originals, its not aliens taking over the earth, its a war movie with the tripods slapped in there for an enemy. Its like Godzilla being destroyed by the military. In fact its worse, because at least that would retain some of godzilla's themes. An awful movie, I would give it a 1 but the robot designs are quite cool. They shouldn't be there in the first place however.

I admit the movie didn't quite impress me at the first fifteen minutes from the start: some of the dialogues sounded like the voice actors were rushed before they could warm up properly to the character they were playing as, resulting in horridly cheesy voice acting which was quite a pain to listen to, but the believability of their acting per the character they were portraying seemed to improve as the movie progressed. Certain animated segments in the movie lacked that stellar Disney-like polish, and some people who aren't used to direct-to-DVD quality animation might find the movie's animation style a bit hard to digest.Then I thought, "maybe I'm being too cynical with this movie" so I chose throw that out to the recycle bin for the rest of the screening. It was then I finally got the gist of what the movie wanted to be: a straight to the point, no holds barred animated action movie. It didn't muck around with too much plot and instead went straight to the meat buffet of non-stop gunfires, lasers, and explosions everywhere. In fact, one can very much regard WOTW:G as the animated steampunk equal to Expendables 2, and surely anyone who sat through the first minute of that senseless beefcake parade would forget they were ever cynical, sensible adults the moment they saw Stallone and his motley crew of action movie stereotypes steamrolling the far east countryside with enough chesthairs to knock over a fortress (in which they did). That, I believe, is the kind of attitude one should muster when watching WOTW:G. Paying even a shred of attention towards the overly straightforward storyline and paper-thin character development would be a complete waste of time as it wasn't the movie's main intention or best forte. However, if you did step into the cinema with the fervour of an uptight critic, I could bet it wouldn't take five minutes for you to vacate your seat and scram to the nearest home entertainment store for a copy of Mulholland Drive for the rest of the night! Having made a comparative reference of a really testosterone-driven action movie, there was no doubt WOTW:G is filled with a lot of suitably clichéd gung-ho characters to go with the continually overmentioned massive guns and explosions. You got the heroic Captain America type protagonist, the femme fatale love interest, the wisecracking Irish, and the "I need to be here because I complete the whole ensemble" black guy. I could barely remember any of their names except for the token Malayan character Raja Iskandar Shah. I was glad that Shah wasn't simply thumbtacked onto the movie just to tell every ingrate creatures on earth to be grateful for the country that does half the bulk of animation work. To my surprise, Shah was a very likable support character, the movie's equivalent to Spock: he's wise, educated, and loves his tea. Perhaps (SPOILER) I could also mention his Keris stabby scene upon a hapless Martian would've easily earned the Awe-Inspiring Moment Of The Month Award if there was ever one! Some historical figures portrayed in the movie were also suitably reimagined and empowered with the tenacity of Greek Gods, like the barfighting, machinegunning prowess of A.R.E.S. commander-in-chief Theodore Roosevelt. Last but not least, WOTW:G beautifully fitting musical score warrants a soundtrack CD release in the future.If you could keep your brain in a jar for night, WOTW:G is the animated movie of choice for a bachelor's night out with the rest of your male buddies. It's a spectacle-driven, purely juvenile explosive ride that's not at all taxing for the casual audience with the least of expectations in what they're watching. Don't concern yourself too much with small details. Just distract yourself with the shock and awe that the movie brought to the silver screen.

I had the chance to see a special preview screening of the film during the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con. I had been privy to concept art and preview footage since 2007. Joe Pearson and Leon Tan did a great job of bringing this story to life and I sincerely hope they continue to bring us great entertainment like this. My first exposure was to Joe Pearson's anime film, "Highlander: Search for Vengeance" through the Official Highlander Message Board. I have been a fan of all types of animation since my early child hood when I would watch the short subject cartoons in the dark of my local movie houses. Those childhood memories inspired me later on in life to pursue a career as am amateur artist and join the San Diego Comic Con in 1977.I also wrote an article on this film for Impact Online Magazine which you can read at; www.impactonline.co/news/851-sdcc-wotw-goliath-stands- tall