Strange World (2022) Review

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

We know adventures can take many shape and forms, but understanding the gravity of just one can be quite a surprise.


PLOT


2022’s Strange World takes place in the fictional land of Avalonia that is surrounded by endless mountains. Jaeger Clade would constantly explore the unknown past the mountains, but his son Searcher and their expedition team would leave without him when finding a green plant that gave off energy. 25 years later, Searcher who has now started his own family with his wife Meridian, their son Ethan and three legged dog Legend, has used the plant he now calls ‘Pando’ to be the fuel source for the city and has farmed it since. One night, Avalonia’s president Callisto Mal would warn the Clades that Pando is losing power and asks Searcher to join her in finding the source of the power. Meridian does catch up in following them to a sinkhole Pando originates, but Ethan & Legend stowed away in the process onto the president’s ship, ‘The Venture’. Inside the sinkhole is a subterranean world filled with various creatures. One particular group that are wyvern like called ‘Reapers’, attack the ship which causes Searcher & Legend to be separated from the others. The rest of the group get protected by Jaeger who’s been living underground after all these years and still wants to go past mountains from below, but needs the Venture to cross an acidic ocean. When Ethan splits up to find his dad, he befriends an amorphous blue figure he ends up calling ‘Splat’. After regrouping, Searcher still prefers moving forward with the mission although Jaeger wants to move forward with his mission. This makes Ethan feel so conflicted with their opposing views that both men agree to try to respect their goals. They do find a cluster of Pando’s roots that is being attacked by other creatures. When Ethan expresses the interest of wanting to explore, Searcher blames his dad’s influence. Just when he reconciles with his son about ignoring him, the two make it past the ocean beyond to discover they’ve explored the immune system of a giant sea turtle that Avalonia has been on the back of this whole time. They relay this to Callisto, but she prefers moving forward with the mission and locks up their family to prevent them from interfering. Once Splat & Kegend set them free, Searcher & Ethan head to the heart for the Reapers to have a clear path and Meridian convinces Callisto to help. Jaeger helps as well when giving up the mountain search which leads to success in breaking through Pando and allows all creatures of the immune system bring the heart back to life and save the land. Once the mission is deemed a success, Searcher shows Jaeger the outside which makes him finally content in life. The film’s story concludes a year after the adventure of Pando, where Ethan is collecting new resources and Avalonia has shifted from Pando energy to wind turbines


THOUGHTS


It is always refreshing when Walt Disney gives up a rip of science fiction after mostly doing fantasy based adventures, because the former is far more unpredictable. In my opinion, I think director Don Hall delivers in making something about as underrated as Treasure Planet and Atlantis combined because the visual effects are dazzling. The characters are well made of course, but the passion goes to all the landscapes in Avalonia and the world that happened to be a turtle. That was a great twist in general as that tells us the source of home is a lot bigger than one would seem. And even a simple design like Splat came off cute due to sensing him to be most endearing. Scene by scene, I just couldn’t look away because that’s how surreal the setting was. Looking past that though, I respect this movie a lot for having a believable approach in depicting the importance of not just respecting the interconnectedness made between our world's nature & ecosystem, but also respect the point of view our descendants feel because not allowing them to pursue their own paths will only decline a healthy relationship. This is the dilemma with the Clade family who struggle to respect each other due to sharing similar perspectives and with an impressive voice cast, their presence will be rightfully immortal like all the Disney characters before and after them. Dennis Quaid makes Jaeger likable at first due to his bravery being threw the roof for what he does, but he is too stubborn to see things differently. That is where things fall apart between him and his son because he ignored his wants/needs due to being caught up as a thrill seeker in his line of work. Jake Gyllenhaal has us respect Searcher for being a more organized individual who doesn't get involved in journeys unless he has no choice. Things worked out with him and Meridian because he was down to earth in his gardening interest and she respected him for it. Gabrielle Union was also enjoyable as the latter because she matched her other half's observance and confidence which in turn make them good parents throughout their adventure. There is no doubt Searcher was looking out for Ethan in wanting him to play life safe the way he did, but he didn't realize being overprotective was just as bad as not being protective at all. I was very impressed with Ethan due to how Jaboukie Young-White shows he is different in more ways than one. People easily point out how he differs most off of being gay and being attracted to his friend Diazo which works out for him in the end. What truly differs him from his family though is how he is far more empathetic compared to the rest of his family. He loves nature as his dad taught him to be, but that is what makes him call to adventure and you can't blame him for wanting to learn more. His perspective is what excuses Jaeger because curiosity became quite possessive and he didn't know how to overcome it until he reached his goal. He got to play it both ways, but he still got to understand having a family is just as much of an adventure. With the roles swapped between the grandpa and grandson, it will only lead to vast possibilities they can encounter together. Last but not least, I thought Lucy Liu was a great addition as Callisto because she was a dedicated leader willing to make a sacrifice willing to save her city she is tasked to look after. That defends her willing to kill the turtle but once she realized the negative outcome that would come from it, she came around in doing the right thing by saving it instead. And I think we all relate to Karan Soni's Caspian due to him easily admiring the legacy of Jaeger. It's easy to see him as a big kid for not handling simpler tasks, but you can't hate him for trying. This movie is generally fine, but it didn't really excuse the handful of things that confused me. Like for starters, is there a larger company or more around to provide for the city and Clade Farms is just a smaller operation in comparison, why isn’t that addressed? I feel like it should be clear because even though Searcher found Pando, it’s unlikely he’d be the only source of it. Also, how come Meridian never knew that Searcher and Callisto were acquaintances? If he spent so much time complaining about those past adventures of his dad, Callisto should’ve came up at least once. And if the turtle is sick, is it ever in pain? I have to ask that since it doesn’t seem to express this once the characters find out what they’re up against. It’s even awkward for Callisto to lie to Ethan that Searcher would be fine when separated because the cold open proves he wouldn’t be unless he’s with Jaeger. I know she’s trying to comfort him, but being president doesn’t excuse lying. And where exactly does Jaeger find the fuel for his flamethrower? It doesn’t seem like he was able to weaponize the lava, so it’s hard to understand how has that weapon lasted for less than 25 years. And what made him so sure the group would need a lot of Pando to fend off the Reapers? He barely knew what it was before reuniting with his son so it doesn’t add up for him to confident knowing an ideal amount. Of all people, Caspian should have not doubted they were in the insights of a creature because anything has been proven possible in their journey. Ignore these factors, then you’re still in for a good time. In short, Strange World is a creative sci fi flick for being other worldly in more ways than one. If you’re still a Disney fan, I promise you won’t regret making time for this one.