Review #771 - Ice Age 4: Continental Drift (2012)
THE SCOOPDirector: Steve Martino & Mike Thurmeier
Cast: Ray Romano, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo
Plot: Manny, Diego, and Sid embark upon another adventure after their continent is set adrift. Using an iceberg as a ship, they encounter sea creatures and battle pirates as they explore a new world.
Genre: Animation/Adventure/Comedy
Awards: -
Runtime: 94min
Rating: G for mild rude humor and action/peril
TRAILER:
OST:
IN RETROSPECT
“Holy crab!”
Ice Age 4: Continental Drift hits our theatres not
with a sweet wave of nostalgia, but a tidal wave of all things plain and
common. The popular animation franchise from 20th Century Fox has
never stooped to such low heights, though kids would argue against it.
This
is a franchise that has run of ideas, so it does what it does best: Milk its
limited creative resources as much as possible and hope that it puts in a good
box-office performance, so that when it comes to brainstorming for a new
project, someone high up in the hierarchy of the movie studio would exclaim,
“Why not Ice Age 5? Ice Age 4 made
money, didn’t it?”
As
the saying goes, “if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it”. Speaking of which,
everything breaks apart in Ice Age 4.
You see, the story revolves around the idea of the formation of continents.
Hence, there is quite a lot of destruction and mayhem in the movie. Rocks fall
down, the ground cracks apart, ice caps break apart…
In
essence, this is what our Mother Earth could conjure up in the near future if
we still don’t give a damn about the environment. Apparently, the characters
Manny the Mammoth (Ray Romano), Sid the Sloth (John Leguizamo), and Diego the
Sabretooth (Denis Leary) are more wary of their delicate situation than anyone
else.
The
three major characters continue their journey, but they are now stranded on a
fast-floating icecap in the middle of the ocean. The narrative cuts back and
forth between the ocean and the land where Manfred’s family and the rest of the
animals try to weather the seismic event.
To
their credit, the filmmakers do not rush proceedings, so a fair amount of
action and development take place before it cuts to the other location. Much of
the humour (still) comes from silly jokes and outrageous physical movements, in
particular a dancing Sloth. This is a kid’s movie, so expect nothing more than
ninety minutes of kiddy (read: cringe-worthy) fun.
The
animation is surprisingly only above-average. Perhaps it’s the lack of colour
(the entire movie has a dull blue-grey look, mostly due to loads of sky and sea),
and hence, the lack of visual energy or vibrancy. Even when plot is lacking or
its characters wafer-thin, an animated feature that is vibrant can still engage
via its eye-popping visuals. Look no further than Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (2012) for a relevant and recent
example.
Ice Age 4 not only pales in comparison, but has already
worn thin on a tired formula. It tries too hard to entertain, but with limited
success. And I haven’t mentioned about the atrocious end credits song… If you
are planning to catch the film, tag along with a kid for he or she may just
make your experience a tad more bearable.
Verdict: Tries its best to entertain with a tired
formula, but with limited success.
GRADE: C- (5.5/10 or 2.5 stars)
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