Movie Review: Ratchet & Clank – Fans Will Like It, Kids Will Love It

Genre Action, Adventure, Animation
Director Kevin Munroe & Jerrica Cleland
Producer Brad Foxhoven, Kim Dent Wilder
Actors James Arnold Taylor, David Kaye, Jim Ward,
Reviewed on Cinema (3D)
Available on Cinema (2D), Cinema (3D)

Metal Pangolin

Published April 25, 2016

We are first of all, introduced to the movie’s main villain, Chairman Drek who promptly orders the destruction of a planet in a scene reminiscent of the destruction of Alderaan in “Star Wars episode IV”. The destruction of that planet is only one of the steps in Drek’s plan, which is further elaborated on later in the movie. We are then introduced to Ratchet, an orphan Lombax, who works as a mechanic and dreams of joining the Galactic Rangers – a group of peacekeepers led by Captain Qwark. Ratchet meets up with Clank, a malfunctioning warbot from one of Dreks factories, and through their unlikely friendship, they go on to try and save the galaxy from the evil schemes of Chairman Drek and his allies.

The movie is basically a retelling of the 2002 game (with an added twist) and we are introduced to the many worlds visited and inhabited by the delightful duo: Ratchet and his mechanical buddy Clank. It was made to coincide with the release of the PS4 game…or is it the game that is coinciding with the movie. Anyway, for those who have enjoyed the adventures of these two before in the games than you are bound to find the movie satisfying. But there’s a problem. For starters, the movie seems to be playing it safe in terms of the humour with most of the gags seemingly designed to be accessible to children while for the adults, they might fall a bit flat. This is in contrast to other animated movies from the likes of Pixar or the recent crop of Disney CGI animated movies like “Zootopia” where some of the humour was at times geared towards adults, but disguised in such a way that kids wouldn’t necessarily get it. This isn’t to say that the movie is bad, just that it is a movie that knows its audience and the target market for the movie was clearly the kids who were in the audience with me. I did enjoy the movie for what it was worth and if you go into it with that mindset then you are bound to find it entertaining. The games are known for their humour and for the movie to play it safe in this way was a bit disappointing.

The voice acting and animation on the other hand were good and it was a delight to hear the original voice actors as well as the new cast which includes Sylvester Stallone as Viktor von Ion, Rosario Dawson as Elaris and Paul Giamatti as the evil Chairman Drek. I did enjoy the movie even with the above listed flaws, but then again this is an age in which we are so used to many animated movies being released so the standard that most animated movies are judged by has been raised. That being said, the tie-in PS4 game that has been released to coincide with this movie is meant to be a reboot of a franchise with this movie serving as a launching platform and jumping on point for those who have never played the games before.

I was invited to the premiere screening of the Ratchet & Clank movie that was held at The Zone in Rosebank. After navigating through the mall, going from one level to the next and dodging obstacles, I finally arrived at the venue and promptly collected my popcorn, drinks, 3-D glasses and entered the cinema. The movie started up and we were transported to the unique universe inhabited by the titular characters and a host of weird and wonderful aliens, robots and everything in-between, that inhabit the worlds that fill it. We are first of all, introduced to the movie's main villain, Chairman Drek who promptly orders the destruction of a planet in a scene reminiscent of the destruction of Alderaan in “Star Wars episode IV”. The destruction of that planet is only one of the steps in Drek’s plan, which is further elaborated on later in the movie. We are then introduced to Ratchet, an orphan Lombax, who works as a mechanic and dreams of joining the Galactic Rangers – a group of peacekeepers led by Captain Qwark. Ratchet meets up with Clank, a malfunctioning warbot from one of Dreks factories, and through their unlikely friendship, they go on to try and save the galaxy from the evil schemes of Chairman Drek and his allies. The movie is basically a retelling of the 2002 game (with an added twist) and we are introduced to the many worlds visited and inhabited by the delightful duo: Ratchet and his mechanical buddy Clank. It was made to coincide with the release of the PS4 game…or is it the game that is coinciding with the movie. Anyway, for those who have enjoyed the adventures of these two before in the games than you are bound to find the movie satisfying. But there's a problem. For starters, the movie seems to be playing it safe in terms of the humour with most of the gags seemingly designed to be accessible to children while for the adults, they might fall a bit flat. This is in contrast to other animated movies from the likes of Pixar or the recent crop of Disney CGI animated movies like “Zootopia” where some of the humour was at times geared towards adults, but disguised in such a way that kids wouldn’t necessarily get it. This isn’t to say that the movie is bad, just that it is a movie that knows its audience and the target market for the movie was clearly the kids who were in the audience with me. I did enjoy the movie for what it was worth and if you go into it with that mindset then you are bound to find it entertaining. The games are known for their humour and for the movie to play it safe in this way was a bit disappointing. The voice acting and animation on the other hand were good and it was a delight to hear the original voice actors as well as the new cast which includes…

Movie Review: Ratchet & Clank – Fans Will Like It, Kids Will Love It

2016-04-25

Metal Pangolin

Worth A Look

Total - 7

70 7

You can tell that care went into making the movie and they did try to make it fall in line with the tie-in PS4 game. For a movie based on a game, it is one of the better attempts seeing as it keeps to the spirit of the game while expanding on the original concept by re-launching the franchise for new fans. It is a movie that knows its target audience while the humour may occasionally fall flat with most adults.

User Rating: 4.75 ( 1 votes)

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Metal Pangolin

His arms are heavy, knees weak, eyes are straining, ‘cause he’s been reading comics from DC, Marvel, Image etc. more than even he can name them. He’s nerdy, but on the surface he looks calm and ready, to review comics, and lets not all forget that, when he writes stuff, it makes people laugh out loud, in real life, he almost never opens his mouth , so watch out....

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