Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Asad Almond A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Bumpy Chip It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Stephanie There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

soumyadeepkoley After watching this movie, now I can safely say I have a favourite actress - Jenna Fischer. She was downright adorable in this movie with nuances of emotions so perfectly portrayed, it'd give me goosebumps. I could gaze at her smile for hours, and she'd have me go awww with her sweetness! Kudos to the director on this as well! Chris Messina was equally amazing. His acting skills made me look up more of his movies to watch. The Giant Mechanical Man is One of the best Romantic Comedies I've watched. It's plain unfair why the box office was so low. Makes me think, why don't all people like good stuff? The answer is in the movie itself.

tieman64 "The so-called consumer society and the politics of corporate capitalism have created a second nature of man which ties him libidinally and aggressively to the commodity form. The need for possessing, consuming, handling and constantly renewing, offered to and imposed upon the people, has become a biological need." - Herbert MarcuseLee Kirk's "The Giant Mechanical Man" stars Chris Messina as a street performer who parodies the drudgery of consumer capitalism by dressing up as a giant robotic man. In love with him is Janice, infectiously played by Jenna Fischer, a middle aged woman who likewise feels out-of-sync with the world. Both characters drift aimlessly through life, finding little value in civilizational offerings and sceptical of the slogans, buzzwords and rituals of those around them. "Man" has been criticised for its one dimensional portrayal of everyone outside of its romantic couple. But that is also the point. Like an indie version of philosopher Herbert Marcuse's "One-Dimensional Man", Lee's portraying a society that has been moulded, institutionalised and preconditioned to accept what is essentially shared psychosis. Lee's characters are obsessed with conquest, acquisition, marketing themselves (and others), and assigning value to everything and anything they touch. Writing for an economic journal decades ago, Albert Einstein would denounce this as man's "predatory phase", but to Janice and Chris, it's nothing less than poison. Everyone else thinks they're nuts.Regardless, "Mechanical Man" struggles to sustain its message. The film eventually devolves into indie-clichés and a terrible final credits sequence in which love and penguins conquer all. The film contains an interesting subplot "about" silent film, and includes a scene in which Janice dons baggy clothes, a sequence which aptly recalls Charlie Chaplin's "Modern Times". 7.9/10 – See "Eagle vs Shark", "Ghost World", "Wendy and Lucy" and "Land of Plenty".

punishmentpark Hipster-romantic comedy / drama that probably is a little too simplistic, easy and sweet concerning certain characters and actions. Doug, for instance, is an all too easy opposite to Tim, though I liked Topher Grace's rendition of this somewhat helpless douche. But, all in all, it did work fine for me; Tim is a sympathetic character and his giant mechanical persona works well, as does Chris Messina, bringing pleasant charisma to the screen in playing the part. Jenna Fischer needs no introduction I assume, other than that I should mention I'm a bit of a fan of hers. And finally, the refreshing soundtrack picked up a good part of the bill as well, making this a rather complete, sympathetic indie piece.7 out of 10.

dansview I like indie films about people, that are based upon dialogue and setting. It helps if they are not mainstream characters. So for me, this one was a gem.I am not familiar with this Chris Messina actor, but he nailed his role. Maybe he used a piece of himself to sculpt the character or maybe he just intuitively understood him. Either way, he was a joy to watch.I was worried that it was going to drift into the dangerous waters of mocking mainstream people. It didn't really, although there is one scene that bordered on that.I don't think these lost-soul characters were jealous of others or even resentful. That's what I loved. They realized that they were dancing to the beat of their own drummer.The male lead especially was for the most part resigned to his fate. Like another reviewer so adeptly pointed out: he was already doing what he wanted to do. The girl was not as comfortable with herself.Jenna Fischer is interesting, because she is mostly deadpan, in The Office and this movie, and she is almost hot in both too. If she was a bit hotter, you would not picture her as a loner.Topher Grace delivers his standard blend of underplayed sarcasm and underdog wit. I enjoyed him, and I think that someone who is not familiar with his routine, would enjoy him even more if this is their first time.Hats off to the writer Lee Kirk. The dialogue in the T.V. interview scene is excellent, as is the exchange when the ex girlfriend apologizes. Impressive wording and spot-on delivery.I don't think this film was trying to slam you over the head with a message that people are on a mindless merry-go-round. I think it was just showing you that there are some people out there who move at their own pace and want less out of life.This point was not brought up, but such people might find peace in Western Europe...or at least before immigration and bankruptcy changed it. If you're not ambitious and you're into art or long walks, Europe might work for you.I wouldn't want America to become like Europe, because the world needs America to be ambitious and morally focused. But I can see where quiet loners would fit better in Europe.