The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002)

I remember watched this as a kid, I am thankful for that. I couldn't stop laughing! This film is funny and stupid! But never mind that, it is greatly entertaining. In this movie, you don't need to pay attention to anything because the acting is the same - LAME! The costumes are the same - PLASTIC! The jokes are the same from every other lame space comedy. The action is fast, sometimes too fast, actually. I have never understood the idea and concept when it comes to the design of robots in this film. But that's passable, I shall leave that alone. This story is dumb and average. This film is one big circus act! Murphy, stop making movies, you were once great!

Being one of the worse box office bombs ever isn't a good start really is it. Yet to look at the trailer, the sci-fi fantasy aspect and the films title you could be fooled into thinking this might not be too bad. The title is pretty sweet if you ask me, definitely an 80's movie title right there.The plot is set in 2080 and mainly on the moon which is now called Little America. A location where gambling, girls, criminals and all things seedy are rampant, a bit like Las Vegas in the old days. Eddie Murphy is a retired smuggler who runs a nightclub on the moon and wants a quiet life, but this is all messed up when some goons come along and force Murphy out by destroying his club under the orders of a mysterious kingpin. Its now up to 'Pluto Nash' to find out why, who is the man behind it all and try to get his club back, or what's left of it.I think the first issue with the film are the visuals. The film is oldish but not that old and unfortunately the CGI effects are pretty poor. Shots of the moon, moving vehicles, the lunar surface and of course Little America just look average and obviously CGI. When we close in on the urban areas the sets aren't too bad in design but again its terribly obvious its all sets. It all looks like a very mediocre attempt at a 'Blade Runner-esque' grimy neon lit urban district. The colour palette doesn't really help with everything being grey and boring, yes I know its the moon and the moon is typically grey but come on. There were some nice 50's-esque designs on some buildings and vehicles though, there was that element throughout the film but it still felt drab and lifeless, virtually black and white.Then you have all the interior sets, design and costumes...its all grey!! everything is grey! flippin' eck!. Not only that but the interior designs look so dated, like its all been reused from a 60's TV sci-fi show. I understand that doesn't necessarily make it bad, there are plenty of examples where films have deliberately gone down the homage route or retro design/vibe which can work wonders giving a great charm factor. The problem here is the film had a massive budget and you wonder what they actually used it on.Take the robot character played by Quaid (and the maid robot character). What they have done is simply apply a lot of makeup to Quaid to give him a doll-like appearance, then he merely acts out the robot role. Now again this can be done and it can work but probably best in low budget films that have little choice. In a big production it just tends to feel lackluster, the maid robot was the same but dressed up in a sexy French number as if that makes it more acceptable. I did quite like the 50's sci-fi sense I got from Quaid's robot though, like a butch Robbie the Robot in human form...kinda hehe.Whilst watching I also found the plot to be a tad confusing really, or at least it didn't make much sense because it was all a muddle of grey. There are a lot of character names flying about here, a lot of seemingly pointless stuff, aimless boring dialog and not much action believe it or not. We just move from one cheap looking grey set to the next with little to laugh, disappointing seeing as its supposedly a Murphy sci-fi action romp.But is it? you think it is but its not really, its more like a 1950's nightclub murder noir homage, 'Harlem Nights' in space perhaps. I must admit to thinking of 'Total Recall' at times whilst watching, it has that kind of vibe going on, minus all the excellent action and blood of course. Do I get the feeling this was made and acted the way it was on purpose?...was it?! I'm not sure, I'd like to think that but deep down I really doubt it. I just think it was a poorly executed movie which had potential to become a bit of a classic. I can see why people might enjoy bits of it like Quaid's cheesy robotic performance and the minor visual gags dotted throughout, but end of the day this really feels like its trying to achieve what 'The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai' achieved.I'm still not really sure whether or not this film was intentionally made like a low budget sci-fi B-movie for artistic reasons, or it just came out that way. The more I think about it, this might have worked much better as a short TV series, it certainly has the look and feel.4.5/10

Which came first Independence Day or The Adventures of Pluto Nash? Independence Day was released six years before Pluto Nash. The connection between the two? James Rebhorn appeared in both. Seeing him looking younger in Pluto Nash than he did in ID added to my sense that Pluto Nash was a late 80s or early 90s film. It just has that look and feel to it. Pluto Nash resembles 1986's Howard the Duck more than its 2002 brethren Star Wars Episode II, Lord of the Rings II, Spider Man, or MIB II (which also included Rosario Dawson). The reason that Pluto Nash seems out of place is that its genesis came in the mid-80s. For some reason, no one stuck a fork in it. Going into production 15 years (in 2000) after its conception is odd to say the least. The mid-80s were not the early 2000s. What might have been entertaining in 1985 wasn't so in 2002. The 80s were just a very different time. Pluto Nash has such an 80s feel to it that I distinctly remember watching it repeatedly on HBO while in my apartment. The thing is, I had moved from that apartment in 1988. Freaky false memory, huh? Other 80s features of Pluto Nash are its dialog, sets, coloration, and special effects. Cheesy is the word that describes the general feel of Pluto Nash. What perplexes me is that this movie cost about $125 million dollars. I could not see anything or any combination of things in Pluto Nash that should have added up to $125 million. A fifth of that? A fourth of that? Maybe. Maybe Eddie Murphy made a killing with his salary. Maybe Warner Brothers worked with the federales to funnel cash to the NSA, and Pluto Nash really cost only $1 million to make. The extra $124 million would buy a lot of flash drives.As cheesy and unbelievably expensive as this movie is, it is still moderately entertaining. Eddie Murphy (who hit his stride in the 80s and probably peaked just before this movie) is an entertainer through and through. I can't think of many roles where I haven't felt good from watching him work. (Delirious is one funny standup performance with him in that red leather jumpsuit and all.) Rosario Dawson spent a lot of the movie doing nothing but looking cute, and she excelled in that. (She's another performer who seldom disappoints.) Randy Quaid made a good performance as an outdated android. The part didn't have much depth or opportunities, but he scored some of the movie's best lines. All of the humor in Pluto Nash was subtle. Very subtle, but there nonetheless.Pluto Nash is a good movie to have on as background stimulus. Maybe at a family holiday gathering when the movie is secondary.

pluto nash is one of them movies, that was a box office flop, so people like to jump on the bandwagon and say its rubbish, when it is far from it, this is a great eddie murphy movie, and is funny, with a great cast, and a sexy looking rosario dawson, thats a pretty sweet hour and a half to me. most people that badmouthed the movie, didn't even watch it, its just cool to say it isn't good, well let me tell you know, if your a fan of eddie murphy, and why wouldn't you be, then you will enjoy this movie very much, no it isn't one of the best movies of alltime, it isn't even of eddie murphy's best but it is a great comedy, that delivers some good laughs, watch it you'll be surprised