Renaissance
DVD Reviews | Jul 24th, 2007

Starring Daniel Craig , Ian Holm, Kevork Malikyan, Catherine McCormack, Romola Garai, Jonathan Pryce
Written By: Alexandre De La Patelliere, Mathieu Delaporte, Jean-Bernard Pouy, Patrick Raynal
Directed By: Christian Volckman
Studio: Miramax
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Renaissance is an impressive animated movie starring Daniel Draig, Ian Holm, Jonathan Pryce, and Catherine McCormack. The movie has been five years in the making and I can see why! The movie is filmed with the latest motion capture technology and it’s quite the sight to see! If you like movies like Blade Runner, A Scanner Darkly and Sin City; you’ll probably like Renaissance as well.
The movie takes place in a bleak future of 2054 in Paris France. The entire movie takes place in black & white and it really gives you that feel that Paris is in some dark, troubled times. In that time, everyone is tracked and monitored by this big company called Avalon. It seems like America is getting to that point doesn’t? The company is the largest in the country and promises everyone what they offer: ageless beauty. Of course I wouldn’t need such a thing. Detective Barthelemy Karas (Daniel Craig) is picked by Avalon to find a kidnapped scientist by any means necessary, and ends up getting really involved besides finding a young kidnapped scientist. He learns of all the corruptions and unmoral things that are going on in the city. Yadda Yadda Yadds, some stuff happen and people die, the end.
I think the main reason why people should see this movie is for the animation. It’s just visually stunning to see an entire city painted over using CGI and other types of computer animation. The whole film is black and white and is really heavy on the blacks, but there are certain scenes that are really white as well. Both contrasts looked impressive and showed a lot of detail. The style actually freaked me out a little because it was a little weird the way people talked and looked. It was also hard to figure out who was who since a lot of the characters looked alike. To me, the acting was a little flat but the story was really interesting. Its hard not to think of what Daniel Craig looks like when his character talks. Same goes with Jonathan Pryce. They both have very recognizable voices. I thought the action sequence in the film were really cool to watch, and I especially like how this is a Rated R movie. Sort of weird seeing cartoons having sex and seeing some nudity.
If you like futuristic sci-thrillers and cool animation, Renaissance is definitely worth watching. I thought it was a cool movie but the story and acting wasn’t as good as I thought it could have been.
Features:
The Making Of Renaissance Featurette
Audio:
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 CC
FRENCH: Dolby Digital 5.1
Video:
Widescreen 2.35:1 Color (Anamorphic)
Subtitles:
Spanish
Favorite Scenes: The action sequence were fun to watch.
Rating: R
Running Time: 105 minutes
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: