The big lure when it comes to Netflix’s upcoming animated movie “The Mitchells vs. the Machines” (04.30.21) is that it was produced by animation wizards Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who were behind “The Lego Movie” and “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” However, directing and writing duties are given to Mike Rianda and Jeff Rowe, their feature debut, who deliver a fast-paced sci-fi adventure about an underachieving family trying to stop a robot apocalypse. Katie Mitchell (voiced by Abbi Jacobson), is the film-geek teenager at the center of the plot, she’s the creator of a semi-popular YouTube channel stacked with homemade movies. Her father, Rick Mitchell (Danny McBride), isn’t sure if her acceptance at a California film school will lead to a viably lucrative career (it probably won’t), this leads to a late-night argument. The morning after, Dad decides the best way to mend these father-daughter issues is to cancel Katie’s flight and drive her to college— the entire family joins in, motoring via a beat up station wagon. Meantime, the aforementioned robocalypse comes into the picture, accidentally caused by Marc Bowman (Eric André) CEO and founder of the Pal corporation — he decides that Pal (think Siri) is old news and what the public really needs is a Pal Max robot. Things don’t go as planned when the robots revolt. The A.I. uprising is led by a dryly deadpan smartphone (scene-stealer Olivia Colman), who sets forth a plan for world domination, containing every human in pods to be shot into space in massive rockets. Yes, there’s nothing necessarily original about ‘The Mitchells vs. The Machines’ that we haven’t already seen before (it’s better to just rewatch “The Incredibles”). Rianda and Rowe’s hyperactive, annoyingly ADHD-delivered, pop cultural wazoo of a film is filled with beautifully bright-colored visuals and online millennial staples such as Instagram filters, emojis, and, much like in ‘Spider-Verse,’ retro comic-book graphics. It all plays out like a young nerd’s wet sci-fi dream. Adults, on the other hand, may feel pummeled by the end of it.
SCORE: C+
Following “Air,” this is Affleck’s latest stint behind the camera. He has cast himself in the lead role, alongside Kerry Washington, Steven Yeun, and Gillian Anderson (“The X-Files”).