The Polar Express

11/18/04- Review

Anybody interested in taking a trip to the North Pole?  If so, you might want to take a ride on The Polar Express, the best ride in town.

When a young boy starts to doubt the fact that Santa does indeed not exist, a giant freight train, dubbed The Polar Express, shows up in his front yard.  The conductor, played by none other than Tom Hanks, tells the young boy that the train is heading to the North Pole to see Santa on this snowy Christmas Eve night.  The boy hesitates but the conductor reminds him that he really should take this ride.  The boy reluctantly agrees and when he goes on board he finds many other boys and girls who have similar problems with themselves. He meets a girl that can lead but lacks the confidence, a kid that thinks he knows everything, and a boy that can’t seem to make any friends.  Hopefully this trip can change all of them. 

They all embrace the journey ahead which turns out to be one adventurous ride through the cold, snowy, and icy path to the North Pole.  The boy starts to discover that the wonders of the World and life never fade away to those who believe in them.  But for some reason, the time is always five minutes to midnight.

I was very intrigued in this movie when I first saw previews months ago.  The effects looked out of this world, almost lifelike after they were modeled after some of the actors, one notable was Tom Hanks.  Plus is was a Christmas flick so it had the potential for a heart whelming story with another adventure to satisfy anyone.  Did I mention it was a Christmas movie?

The effects really drew me to seeing this movie.  Robert Zemeckis, a big time Hollywood director, employed a new advanced version of motion capture technology called “performance capture.”  It almost looks like the actors are real people.  This can be seen in other movies such as Final Fantasy but it looked much more refined in this movie.  The whole process looked visually stunning and it gave Zemeckis the ability to do basically whatever he wanted. 

Based on the book by Chris Van Allsburg, which I just so happened to read later, the movie goes much further then the children's’ book does. It is by far more in depth and more adventurous. In any case, the story was terrific and very entertaining for any viewer.  There were some very exciting action sequences including a long roller coaster like ride through the icy depths of the North Pole.  The adventure helped to round out the very engaging story.

If you want to talk Christmas stories for young kids, then this is story for you.  This movie is perfect for kids of all ages including grownups with its touching and inspiring story of a boy who is doubting Christmas and Santa Claus but through the movie, he begins to believe. Others will discover that your dreams will come true if you believe and you have faith that they will.  If that doesn’t bring you some Christmas cheer, then I don’t know what will.

Tom Hanks is a genius.  He played multiple roles in this film, including the conductor, a hobo, the boys father, and the man in the red suit as well. He did them all like you would expect him to.  He was amazing and pulled off all the roles like they were nothing.  Tom Hanks is really a man of multiple talents and this movie is just another one that showcases those talents. 

Robert Zemeckis continues his dominance as one of the premiere directors in Hollywood. This movie really showed his specific attention to detail on getting the effects to look exactly how he wanted them. He tied the adventure in with a great tale of Christmas that will gain kudos from all sorts of viewers.

I highly recommend The Polar Express for everybody that is looking for that one Christmas movie this year. Kids will love the effects, the train, and the little boys and girls that are learning to believe and have faith.  It is a great inspiration and heart whelming tale that will don the TV sets for years to come.  Remember, as Tom Hanks said in the movie, “It doesn’t matter where the train is going, what matters is deciding to get on.” Well said.   

Grade

What do you think?