This is not to say that Ice Age 4 is totally unbearable, – it has its moments of immature mirth – but just to say that it goes more for the cheap thrills that characterized Ice Age 2 and Ice Age 3, taking the series yet another step away from the effectively simple creativity of the original tale, rather than being a redemptive franchise reviver.
In this new film, Scrat, in a repeated scene from a previous outing, has broken apart the one massive continent into the several that we have today, breaking apart Diego, Sid, Sid’s Granny, and Manny from Manny’s wife, Ellie, and daughter, Peaches. While Ellie tries to reign in her wild teenage daughter and lead them to a safe haven from the shifting continents, the original Ice Age herd (plus Granny) is forced to fight through storms, pirates, and sirens to get back home.
Ice Age 4 throws a lot at audiences, trying to keep things fresh. There are a number of set changes, from pirate ships to exotic islands to the mythical “Scrat-lantis,” a big song-and-dance number, and a large scale climax battle, each of which are enhanced by some decent 3D. Clearly, just about every scene was designed with that extra dimension in mind. More than anything though, the filmmakers have crammed this new film full of celebrity voices. Seriously, too many to name and link to here, but feel free to check out the cast list for yourself.
Some of what has been thrown at the wall sticks and some does not, but the point is that while Ice Age 4 has a bit of a different feel and look to it than the other films, most of these things are nothing more than gimmicks designed to distract us from the fact that this series has finally fun out of steam. There’s just not anywhere else to go with these characters and having rappers Drake and Nicki Minaj voice side characters does nothing to change that.
Of course, this is really the fault of the screenwriters, while the actors giving voice to the stagnant characters (Ray Romano, Denis Leary, and John Leguizamo as Manny, Diego, and Sid, respectively) are good enough. As I said before, there are tons of celebrity voices in this one, but I would like to point out one: Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) as Pirate Captain Gutt. I had no idea who was voicing the primate pirate until the credits rolled and, wow, this guy just keeps proving the enormous breadth of his range, even as just a voice actor in a kid’s movie.
Really, the main issue with Ice Age 4 is that it starts silly and ends silly. Remember that the first Ice Age, while having hilariously immature moments like the melon/football game with the Dodo birds, still took itself somewhat seriously as it explored themes of family and created real danger in the saber-tooth antagonists. The sequels have never found the balance of the first and it’s a problem that continues.
As a side note, the "short" accompanying Ice Age 4 comes from The Simpsons and focuses on a day at Maggie's daycare. It is engaging (I actually cared about what was happening), funny (weird considering I haven't found The Simpsons funny in years), and clever (a biting critique of America's school system). It was probably my favorite part of Ice Age 4. Good for the short, bad for the actual movie.
Overall, Ice Age 4 can be mindless fun on its own (depending on your age), but when compared to the first Ice Age, or even compared the other summer kids’ movies like Madagascar 3 or Brave, it just doesn’t come close to being anything truly memorable.
The Final Word (ages 3 to 12): Wait to rent it.
The Final Word (12+): Don’t even bother.
Couldn't find the actual scene, but this is close enough...
No comments:
Post a Comment