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Title: The movie is better
Review: Townshend's musical version of Ted Hughes' Iron Man (the source for the movie, The Iron Giant) is an interesting, but essentially flawed attempt at bringing the story to life. The songs do not tell the story, rather they stand as separate disparate elements. The choice of having an anonymous cast of animals serve as the chorus does not hold the listener's interest and Townshend's singing the role of Hogarth does not give you a true feel for the character. Johnny Lee Hooker as the Iron Man and Nina Simone as the wicked Space Dragon are the only stand out performances. A valiant effort, but the film better captures the essence, if not the plot, of the original book.
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