The Angry Birds Movie is, obviously, based on the Angry Birds game app. Set on an island with a community of cheerful,
colorful, flightless birds living in it, the story centers on Red (Jason
Sudeikis), a bitter bird with a bad temper.
After his latest outburst, he’s sentenced to undergo anger management
classes under Matilda (Maya Rudolph), wherein he meets the other social
outcasts of the island: the super fast Chuck (Josh Gad), the self-detonating Bomb (Danny
McBride), and the huge, grim Terrence (a few lines from Sean Penn).
One day, a ship of green pigs
arrives in the island. The pigs claim to
be explorers who seek friendship with the birds, giving them various gifts and
entertaining them with shows. In return,
the cordial, naïve birds easily welcome them. However, the pigs are actually harboring ill
intentions, and only the cynical Red is capable of being distrustful
of them. With his own kind dismissing his
warnings, it’s up to Red and his band of misfits to figure out what the pigs
are really up to and save the other birds.
If you are/were a fan of the game,
there’s a lot to be pleased about this movie.
Many elements of the gameplay are utilized in the plot and humor. And though the focus of the movie is mostly
on Red, Chuck, and Bomb, the other game characters have supporting
or cameo roles. There’s something
strange about seeing them have wings/arms and legs when they are portrayed as
limbless and egg-shaped in the games.
But once you get used to their animated appearance, they’re actually
kind of adorable.
That said, this movie feels like
a few years too late. Angry Birds was very big back in 2011 (I should know, since it was the game I played the most that year) and 2012. If the movie was made and released during
those years, it would have been more timely and impactful. Nowadays, it doesn’t
have the pop culture presence that it used to have in its heyday. Angry
Birds as a brand was not able to sustain its huge popularity. Hence, having an Angry
Birds movie in 2016 is pretty much needless.
It also doesn’t help that the
film is mediocre. The animation is good
to look at, but the story is predictable and the themes are clichéd.
Also, the humor is surprisingly
mature. I don’t mean “mature” in the way
that it’s directly “for adults.”
However, it’s not too subtle and clever in its diluting of sex jokes and
profanity to “G” levels either. They won’t go over the heads of observant, smart kids.
For example, the word “pluck” is obviously being used as substitute for the
“F” word, and the meaning of that joke about “laying some eggs tonight” is cringingly
clear.
In the end, there’s some fun and laughs to be
had from The Angry Birds Movie, especially
if you enjoyed playing the game. And yet,
there’s this sense of irrelevance and obsoleteness about it, and it doesn’t
have the substance and wit to be an animated movie of note.
No comments:
Post a Comment