Rich Ho’s ambitious passion project HEAVENS: The Boy and His Robot, is an entertaining mecha science fiction film that goes all out to impress. A decent family film that everything can enjoy.
In the not-too-distant future, humanity has harnessed cosmic forces and expanded its reach far beyond Earth. The eternal struggle for resources remains, pitting the water-starved Empire of Mars against our species’ home planet. The Second Great War has raged for decades. Kai’s father has fallen in battle, his mother gone missing on a mission to Saturn. Now 18 years old, Kai is determined to do his part (and find his mother) and follows in his father’s footsteps to the Mecha Corps Academy.
There is no other way to put this, HEAVENS: The Boy and His Robot is Rich Ho’s passion project, his name is all over the credits, at quick glance, at least 10 times. It is a film that has taken over a decade to get to our screens, its as ambitious as it is admirable, making it a difficult film not to separate from the efforts of its maker.
While Ho aimed for a family friendly film, the narrative of HEAVENS: The Boy and His Robot cannot escape the fact that the story is just that bit too dark in its tone. It has all the markings of a family friendly film, but the theme of loss shrouds over the film too much for it to happily commit to that. Sure, there are characters that help lighten the mood, but not quite enough to fully escape it. However, you get the feeling that this was just the bouncing off point, that now these characters have that dark past, they can move on from it. Certainly, it is not a critique of the film, what we get still works, but for this outing it is muddled because it wants us to have the ultimate level of sympathy for Kai, even if the film is overly laced with melancholy for its own good.
What makes HEAVENS: The Boy and His Robot work well though is that there is no attempt to reinvent the wheel here with its story. It treds along a fairly typical narrative and although that should be a weakness, it works here. Keeping things simple so that we can thoroughly enjoy the spectactle that Ho has devised for us. There is clear intents for this to be some sort of franchise and by playing it “safe” with this first story, it opens up all the possibilities for future films.
The story is one that children and families can connect with, they no matter your “weakness” you are still important, that by having such a “weakness” is merely a bump in the road that will be overcome. In a way it is a story that relates to Rich Ho himself, he has made this from scratch, his “weakness” was the budget for his idea, yet, here he is with a fully fledged film that will find an audience. Kai is Ho and its that inspiring theme that makes it all work.
When it comes to the action, Ho has gone all out with it, which at times becomes has you at the very cusp of being distracted visually. The overwhelming nature of what is thrown at us on screen doesn’t always succeed, however Ho does his best to keep it as toned down as possible and seems to have a decent grasp of mapping out an action scene of mecha’s. If that was toned down slightly it would make for a far more easily consumable film.
Does HEAVENS: The Boy and His Robot always work? No, but it is still an entertaining time that does everything it can to impress, sometimes to its own detriment. Worth a watch and with hope there will be more as Ho has an eye and a love for this that deserves a next visit to this universe.
★★★
For more of our coverage of Fantasia Festival 2024 please check out our reviews below:
Hell is a Teenage Girl (Short)
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