The Mitchells Vs. The Machines - Movie Review

Critics Score - 8 of 10

General Audience Score - 8 of 10

So we all know that someday A.I. will gain consciousness and it’ll probably be an intelligent algorithm designed by some random company, like Netflix or something. Fortunately for us it’s entire purpose won’t be enslaving mankind or taking over the Earth, it’s  much more probable it’ll be something more benign like making movies that convince us an A.I. takeover would only be amusing and filled with comical mischief and silly shenanigans. Wait a minute. The Mitchells Vs.The Machines is the most recent animated film from Netflix that covers the subject of an A.I. that decides that humans need to go, by far the most popular option of all the purposes an A.I. could have. From some of the same people that put together the fantastically fun Lego Movie and one of the greatest animated films ever, Spiderman Into The Spiderverse, The Mitchells Vs. The Machines is a unique, quick-witted and colorful roller coaster of a movie. The humor flows through this film with ease, jokes and comedic situations are coming around every corner and it’ll keep a smile on your face for almost the entire duration of it's almost two hour runtime. Adults and kids alike can have a great time watching the dysfunctional Mitchells face off against these diabolically entertaining Machines.

The party starts with the Mitchells in their car driving like the wind with a squadron of I, Robot looking humanoid machines chasing after them. As is the custom, we then rewind to a couple days before the movie’s main plot line develops and we meet an aspiring filmmaker Katie Mitchell (voiced by Abbi Jacobson), her dinosaur obsessed little brother Aaron (Mike Rianda) and her parents, the nature loving father Rick (Danny McBride) and mother with something to hide Linda (Maya Rudolph). The father, Rick, doesn't get technology and doesn't understand his daughters obsession with filmmaking, this disconnect in what Katie is passionate about has resulted in her desire to get outta the house and make friends at college that understand her. It’s easy to tell the voice actors are having fun, from the very beginning the humorous exchanges between the characters and quirky mannerisms feel authentic and lived in by these performers. The Mitchells are on a road trip to drop Katie off at college when the artificial intelligence reveals itself to the humans and immediately captures all of mankind with the exception of our family under discussion, the robots for some unknown reason struggle to haul these misfits into their clutches. After the first big robot attack, two short circuiting droids spill the beans on the A.I.’s plans to blast all humans into space, so they all take off to deliver a kill switch into the main computer and save humanity. As the perils they encounters begin to drive a wedge into the cracks of the existing family’s problems, the dynamics of the family’s relationships start weaving into the main plot of the film. By the time they're facing down the final assault to stop the runaway computers at the only place A.I. knows where to set up a control center, the top of the tallest building, the Mitchells are as much at battle with themselves as they are the machines.

In the end, of course they’ve figured out that in order to beat the machines, all you need is to work together as a team, overcome your differences, realize that you’re still a family and you love each other no matter what. That and a #3 head Robertson non-slip screwdriver. Katie was at the center of the story but it was the entire family, their zany ideas and the humor that results that fueled the family's station wagon as it traverses this journey to the finish line. The movie does drag a bit into the third act, with plenty of action sequences and battles that aren't really that interesting, nothing we haven't seen before and most everything is pretty standard and predictable. It’s a rare animated film that almost reaches a two hour runtime and could've been helped by a little trimming of some animated fat. The animation is gorgeous but that has become the standard for the industry, the music and score are also well designed but again doesn't stand out in many ways from other great animated features. But the writing, with so many witty one liners and goofy interactions from within this family is where the film really shines and sets itself apart from it's peers.

SUMMARY - Some may toss this movie aside as I did, at least for a couple months, as it went straight to streaming on Netflix, but this is an exceptional piece of animated cinema. It has the exact same quality and entertainment value as some of the best animated films out there. It may not be a masterpiece, but it sure is clever, a hell of a lot of fun and very funny when The Machines have to take on this family of  Mitchells.