Good beginning, lousy ending

Of COURSE the two white mercenaries, Roarke and the blonde, are the "evil" ones, while the ethnic characters turn out to be good. Typical political correctness.

[deleted]

I never even noticed that politically correct move, but you're entirely right. (How much more fitting it is, then, that Helga, the blonde, is apparently also German. Oooh, those evil Germans!)

However, I never really liked Kida as a character. I just don't get her. We know very little about her except she's curious (Disney staple trait), brave (Disney staple trait), and tough (Disney staple trait for modern heroines). I thought she was boring, although her movie is great and her culture is very interesting and she has one of the best Disney guys (which is another thing- obviously Milo thinks she's attractive and interesting, but what is it she likes about him? We never really find out).

You're not supposed to cook when you're sad.
Are you sad all the time, Mom?

Of COURSE the two white mercenaries, Roarke and the blonde, are the "evil" ones, while the ethnic characters turn out to be good. Typical political correctness

The metaphysics with the power source and the gems was very murky, something vaguely spiritual and vaguely eco, but not at all compelling.

Turning the princess into the conduit of the power removed the most interesting character apart from Milo from the plot for a good chunk of the action, right when we wanted to see more of her.

The entire action sequence was standard Hollywood fare and actually kind of routine

I thought it was pretty surprising and refreshing that Helga didn't turn good/redeem herself and did pay the price. But I did think that Kida turning into crystal and then not doing anything until the very end was pretty boring.

Absolutely agree with the O.P.

Could have been a decent film, but the political correctness ruins it. As usual, for Disney of this era.

I know a lot of people seem to think the movie takes a downward spin once Rourke's betrayal happens, but I personally disagree.

It's obvious from the beginning that, although the entire crew (including the minorities) were in it for the money, yet Rourke was the only one willing to really do whatever it took to get the biggest paycheck.

Helga, who's appears to be of German descent, actually says to Rourke "Rourke, there weren't supposed to be people here. This changes everything," to which Rourke replies "This changes nothing. If anything, this suggests that even Helga would've been willing to reconsider wiping out the Atlantians. Except she's just Rourke's Number #2, and Rourke never changed his mind.

The movie is hardly "politically correct." The crew of specialists, despite ultimately siding with Milo Thatch, were initially willing to help Rourke and were well aware of Rourke's plans before the mission even began.

As for "the white guy" Milo being the only one who can understand the ancient Atlantian language/symbols, keep in mind when the Europeans first came to Egypt, the native Egyptians didn't know how to decipher the ancient hieroglyphics either.

The whole film is set before the outbreak of World War I when numerous European countries maintained colonies (America had "territories"), some like the Belgian Congo containing numerous examples of cruelty towards the natives in order to access their natural resources. Rourke turning into a b@st@rd wasn't meant to be some plot twist, anyone could tell it was coming a mile away. The point is Rourke willing to sacrifice the Atlantians for the greatest technological discovery ever is a strong, anti-imperialism/anti-colonialism message.

Think about it: all the soldiers wear gas masks, use machine guns, airplanes, submarines; weapons that first saw widespread use in World War I. Rourke represents the many people who were willing to use these new weapons against people he deemed "inferior." That's not necessarily being politically correct as it is historically accurate.

Can't be too careful with all those weirdos running around.