Mosaic (2007) Reviews

• An interesting premise

  mentalcritic2007-05-23

  With Stan Lee's name practically being synonymous with half of the major comic book titles, one only has to add his name to the title in order to sell a new product to certain audiences. Myself, I was more interested in one of the members of the voice cast. I could literally listen to Anna Paquin read out both volumes of the Sydney phone book. However, a name in the cast will only take one so far, and there has to be something behind the facade to keep the audience interested. Mosaic is a pilot in every sense of the word, clearly intended as a demo tape for studio executives rather than something to hook the audience with. Given that this pilot is being sold on DVD in Australia before a series is contemplated, I would suspect that Mosaic has ended up where so many pilots end up. Discarded and forgotten about by executives who are overloaded with this kind of material already. Thanks to the wonders of DVD-Video and the collector's market, however, we can enjoy this effort at creating a new franchise, as well as the reasons it did not take off, at our leisure. The problem that probably killed Mosaic at the marketplace is that it is clearly intended for the Saturday morning cartoon circuit, a market that appears to be very much on its last legs. This sets limits upon the creativity of the screenwriters that do not sit well with the subject material at hand. In the seventy-two minute running time, such subjects as a hidden alien race, an international conspiracy involving the robbery of museums, and a parent unknowingly swearing to wipe out a subrace that apparently includes his own child are all touched upon. But the need to pander to that all-important preteen market severely limits the depths to which these subjects can be explored. The irony here is that in the mere two minutes that Mosaic touches upon the last subject in the list I have just outlined, it does so in a far more intelligent and insightful manner than the entire hundred minutes of the third X-Men film, which fans around the world have disowned in droves. Perhaps a series was not picked up because Fox could not stand to invite the comparison. As I previously mentioned, Anna Paquin could read the phone book for a couple of hours and have me mesmerised. Her smooth, soft voice could be poured onto pancakes and eaten. It also helps that the character she is voicing, Maggie, is clearly modelled after her. Her character gets the vast majority of the screen time, and it is a credit to her that she sounds so sincere when delivering dialogue that occasionally devolves into the childish. Kirby Morrow and Nicole Oliver deliver most of the rest of the dialogue, and provide an adequate framework for Anna to bounce her lines off. However, for all intents and purposes, this is really Anna's show, and I submit that you have not lived until you hear her voice coming out of the mouth of a blonde cartoon woman. Granted, it is no substitute for seeing Anna in front of the camera, pulling the most wicked face while delivering the sort of lines that just stick in the memory forever. But when you have bought or stolen every DVD you can find in which she appears... The imagery is also quite a nice throwback to the days when animation was done with cels and ink rather than a computer. Looking somewhat like the Japanese animation that flooded the market in the mid-1980s, Mosaic is very pleasant to look at. All of the usual 1980s cartoon staples are present and accounted for. Invisibility is represented by a white outline of a transparent character while characters punch, kick, and throw each other about for what seems like hours on end with nary a drop of blood spilled. Mosaic is unafraid to let the audience's imagination fill in some of the gaps. Unfortunately, it also relies on the audience's imagination a little too much when it comes to critical questions. The ability of the chameleon race to evade detection by mainstream society for so long is very high among them. Also begging the question is how the chameleon race can live for the centuries they claim in an environment that is ostensibly identical to ours. But the story is fortunately enough to distract viewers from such questions. The character of Maggie is at once the strength and the weakness of this pilot. Being a Stan Lee character, as much as possible is made of her attempts to understand and come to terms with her newfound powers. It does sound a lot like a stripped-down version of X-Men, but Mosaic is one of the few entrants in the market that actually benefits from this approach. Cast overcrowding in a two-hour feature is a very difficult thing to avoid, but Mosaic gets the balance right by allocating almost all of its seventy-two minutes to a single character. We spend so much time learning of Maggie's world, both inside and out, that at the end when the plot takes on a threatening new direction (presumably for future episodes), it has that much more impact. Unlike the third X-Men film, which left the most rabid fans of its predecessors wanting to erase it from existence, Mosaic leaves the viewer wanting more. About the only problem, as previously hinted, is that it allows too little time to delve deeper into its subject material. A continuation of this particular episode is not just wanted, it is practically necessary. I gave Mosaic a seven out of ten. I would have liked a deeper, more inventive plot, but what was delivered certainly kept my attention all the way through. It is definitely a keeper.

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• typical stan, but not bad at all

  briankb8man2007-01-23

  stan lee has a penchant for taking a ridiculous idea and turning it into something fairly entertaining. let's face it, spider-man was a ridiculous idea, but it has grown into an amazing phenomenon. mosaic will never get there; stan is way past his prime, but it is entertaining none the less. the main character is likable, but not as much as stan wants you to like her. one thing that makes no sense to me is that the movie is titled mosaic, when the character mosaic is neither the protagonist nor antagonist of the movie. sure, maggie would have been a stupid name for a superhero movie, but surely they could have done better than a secondary character for the title. it's more entertaining than some of the big budget comic book movies, worth the the hour and fifteen minutes or so required to watch it.

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• Stan Lee rips' off Mighty Max?

  secrective2007-01-20

  The story seems good enough. Daughter of an Interpol agent gets tangled up with mysterious ancient relic, which then gives her comic book hero powers. The characters are well developed and likable. The pacing is good and really does feel similar to an episode of 'Mighty Max'. The writing is clichéd. There aren't any big twists, save for one minor one near the end. The ending is abrupt, and predictable. Animation is decent enough. A bit like the current warner brothers cartoons, except with a higher budget and more detailed animation. Its kid friendly with no swearing and only has some violence (neck snap of one security guard). If you are lacking good Saturday Morning Cartoons and need a fix, this will do. Otherwise skip it.

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• good start give it a chance

  pharmstock2008-09-08

  I just saw this on Netflix and I disagree with the previous poster.(crispy comments) this is a CARTOON. yes the main character acts ditsy. So did Buffy the Vampire Slayer. yet she had a good run (7 seasons). Stan lee is obviously trying out different new characters in a one off setting similar to the action pack setting that brought us Kevin Sorbo as Hercules and the dreadful Cleopatra 2525. the art is similar to the old sat morning cartoons. however it is a little more adult in that it actual SHOWS (not in shadow as most PG rated cartoons) one person getting murdered and another beaten to a bloody mess. no bloodless fistfights here. as for Crispy's complaints about the "over-sexualization", I would point to several other cartoon such as batman the animated series and justice league and their depiction of super heroine garb.

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• Chameleon

  call_moi_godess2008-05-25

  I'm just an average teenage girl who is a fan of comic books. I only happened to be watching this at 2 in the morning and I thought it was fantastic! A lot of people say that there are a lot of ripoffs like the powers, effects, and images. But really the entire idea put together is completely original and unique. And really if there such a thing as being original anymore? A kick-ass teenage drama student who has the powers of a chameleon, with a best friend who is in love with her, a guy who is pretty much from a different planet teams up with her to save the world from an Alchemist crazy chameleon dude. A lot of action and unsuspecting twists. I loved this movie and I can't wait for more.

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