Running time: 88 minutes
Starring: Bill Nighy, Zach Galifianakis, Will Arnett and the voices of Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, Penelope Cruz, Steve Buscemi, Jon Favreau, Tracy Morgan
Rating 4 out of 10
There aren't many producers whose name ranks higher on the marquee than either the director or the stars, but Jerry Bruckheimer is one. Noted for action blockbusters such as the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, Black Hawk Down and Pearl Harbor, Bruckheimer has never met an explosion he didn't like, a volume knob that stops at 10 or a drama that couldn't be improved by adding the word melo. So seeing his name attached to a 3-D animated Disney film involving guinea pigs was incongruous to say the least. But the producer's signature style is all over G-Force. Unfortunately!
The idea of an elite group of government-trained rodent spies might, on the surface, sound intriguing, but there's nothing remotely engaging about this misguided dud. It's difficult to figure where G-Force was aimed. The high-tech and convoluted story is well beyond the grasp of the very young while anyone older is hardly going to be excited about a film involving guinea pigs, hamsters and moles. It's hard not to judge animated films against the high standards set by Pixar, but if there's one thing that studio has shown, it's that story is king. Certainly the one conceived here by the committee of screenwriters is anything but regal.
The government has long used animals to carry out certain tasks such as training dolphins to detect mines and cockroaches to carry recording devices, so teaching guinea pigs to carry out complex espionage assignments is obviously only one small leap of faith away from plausible. Such was the nucleus of the idea that spawned G-Force. Though since when has credulity ever been a factor in animation? All of which would be a moot point had any of the G-Force characters possessed anything in the way of personality. Despite drafting in some impressive names to voice the various members of G-Force, none left the slightest impression.
The film blends 3-D animation with live action, which was unfortunate for the poor souls who actually had to show their faces. One being Zach Galifianakis who plays Dr Ben Kendall, a scientist entrusted with the task of training the team of rodents, led by Darwin (Sam Rockwell), to carry out secret missions for the government. Under the direction of Special Agent Kip Killian (Will Arnett), G-Force is engaged in infiltrating the industrial empire of Leonard Saber (Bill Nighy) and sabotaging Operation Clusterstorm, his plan for world domination.
The garbled plot leaves you with only the film's visuals to sustain interest. The 3-D is certainly impressive and the low camera angles, showing the world from the G-Force's perspective, works well. Following the aerobatics of Mooch the fly in 3-D was the most effective element, but that's a sad indictment of the rest of the movie. Ultimately you're left to reflect on the extraordinary amount of work that went into producing every frame of G-Force and wishing half as much care had been taken with the script.
Kevin Murphy
The idea of an elite group of government-trained rodent spies might, on the surface, sound intriguing, but there's nothing remotely engaging about this misguided dud. It's difficult to figure where G-Force was aimed. The high-tech and convoluted story is well beyond the grasp of the very young while anyone older is hardly going to be excited about a film involving guinea pigs, hamsters and moles. It's hard not to judge animated films against the high standards set by Pixar, but if there's one thing that studio has shown, it's that story is king. Certainly the one conceived here by the committee of screenwriters is anything but regal.
The government has long used animals to carry out certain tasks such as training dolphins to detect mines and cockroaches to carry recording devices, so teaching guinea pigs to carry out complex espionage assignments is obviously only one small leap of faith away from plausible. Such was the nucleus of the idea that spawned G-Force. Though since when has credulity ever been a factor in animation? All of which would be a moot point had any of the G-Force characters possessed anything in the way of personality. Despite drafting in some impressive names to voice the various members of G-Force, none left the slightest impression.
The film blends 3-D animation with live action, which was unfortunate for the poor souls who actually had to show their faces. One being Zach Galifianakis who plays Dr Ben Kendall, a scientist entrusted with the task of training the team of rodents, led by Darwin (Sam Rockwell), to carry out secret missions for the government. Under the direction of Special Agent Kip Killian (Will Arnett), G-Force is engaged in infiltrating the industrial empire of Leonard Saber (Bill Nighy) and sabotaging Operation Clusterstorm, his plan for world domination.
The garbled plot leaves you with only the film's visuals to sustain interest. The 3-D is certainly impressive and the low camera angles, showing the world from the G-Force's perspective, works well. Following the aerobatics of Mooch the fly in 3-D was the most effective element, but that's a sad indictment of the rest of the movie. Ultimately you're left to reflect on the extraordinary amount of work that went into producing every frame of G-Force and wishing half as much care had been taken with the script.
Kevin Murphy
