The Mitchells vs. The Machines (2021).
“Behold! The twilight of man!”
Directed by Mike Rianda and Jeff Rowe
Written by Mike Rianda and Jeff Rowe
Starring Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Mike Rianda, and the iRobots
The Stage.
A dysfunctional, argumentative family finds themselves needing to work together after a tech designer accidentally ignites the robot apocalypse. It’s basically a kid’s version of the first day of Skynet becoming sentient.
The Review.
When you have a three year old, you jump on Netflix and you just scroll through a bevy of films, but once one catches your kid’s eye, to quote Kyle Reese from the above mentioned Terminator, it can’t be bargained with, it can’t be reasoned with, it doesn't feel pity or remorse or fear, and it absolutely will not stop... EVER, until he’s watching Puppy Pals! So when The Mitchells vs The Machines caught his eye, I didn’t have high hopes…and then I saw the producers. Our savior Lord and Miller! Purveyors of great films like Into the Spider-Verse and The Lego Movie? Could they come through again?
Heck yeah they did. This movie rules. I had so much fun with this film, way more than my kid did. There’s a lot here to love, every part of this film works. The characters are fantastic and full of life, even down to the dog. The music is great. The animation is beautiful and varied with a unique style reminiscent of Into The Spider-Verse, but still it’s own. The story is a grand adventure that builds in scope. If you’ve seen a kids film before, you’ll know where it’s heading, but the ride is so fun and has a lot of unexpected twists. It’s funny - like, really funny, to the point that I was hard laughing at several parts, and as you’d expect, it’s got a ton of heart. Simply put, this movie is amazing. I’m not sure if I like it more than Into the Spider-Verse, but it’s close. Mike Rianda and Jeff Rowe wrote and directed the film and I cannot wait to follow them to see what they come up with next.
The End.
What else can I say about The Mitchells vs. The Machines? It has something for everyone. It even has a Kill Bill reference for Lord’s sake. If you have kids, watch it with the family. If you don’t, watch it anyway. It’s hard to imagine this not being in my top 10 at the end of the year.
