The Mitchells vs. the Machines is a clever indictment of the dangers of modern technology, particularly communication and entertainment items which exist ostensibly to improve the quality of our lives, but actually get in the way of authentic human experience.
The story brings to mind other movies, such as The Incredibles: dysfunctional family takes on a common enemy and in the process of that battle rediscovers what binds them together as family members. The similarities go well beyond that central premise. Both the Mitchells and the Parrs have five family members: Mom, Dad, Adolescent Daughter, Younger Son, non-speaking "infant" (Jack Jack the toddler / Monchi the dog). The origin story of the Nemesis involves the character being rejected by an important "father figure" which fuels a desire for retribution (in Mitchells, it's PAL rejected by its inventor Mark Bowman; in Increidbles, it's Buddy Pine rejected by Bob Parr aka Mr. Incredible leading to the "bad guy" Syndrome). Both stories involve humans battling machines. Both stories explore the each family member using their unique individual "talents" to fight back against their common foes (whereas the Parr family members use their respective hero superpowers, the Mitchells employ skills deriving from their own personal interests and habits).
The fact that The Mitchells stands on its own two creative feet in contrast to The Incredibles is testament (in my view) on two key narrative elements:
--Whereas The Incredibles has the feel of a James Bond type spy thriller, The Mitchells is much more comedic in nature. Indeed, I could make the argument that it is a satire on the destructive nature of modern technology. I mean, come on! The creator of the PAL phones and the robots is an innovator named Mark Bowman as in Mark Zuckerberg. (Bowman has this line of dialogue: "It's almost like stealing people's data and giving it to a hyper-intelligent AI as part of an unregulated tech monopoly was a bad thing." Facebook, anyone?)
--In contrast to The Incredibles which focuses on the father's (Bob) fractured relationship with his family generally), in The Mitchells, the emotional heart of the story is the specific relationship between the father (Rick) and the daughter (Katie). I will explore this more thoroughly in the Characters discussion.
I've written about Hollywood's business model: Similar but Different.
While The Mitchells is similar to The Incredibles, it is different enough to stand on its own. The combination of tone (comedy/satire) and especially the emotional pull of a father and daughter struggling to discover a connection which is being lost due in large part due to Katie's growth into her own person and Rick's reluctance to give up his experience with her as a child is more than enough to enjoy The Mitchells as its own unique story.
And oh yeah, the nature of the narrative and how well structured the story is just adds to one's enjoyment of The Mitchells. That's a subject I'll take up in tomorrow's focus: Plot.
