Review: No birdy is really angry in “The Angry Birds Movie”
Red (Jason Sudeikis) in “The Angry Birds Movie.” (Sony Pictures)
Marcus Goh is a Singapore television scriptwriter. He’s also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. He Tweets/Instagrams at Optimarcus and writes at marcusgohmarcusgoh.com. The views expressed are his own.
Secret ending? Yes.
Running time: 97 minutes (~1.5 hours)
“The Angry Birds Movie” is an animated comedy that’s based on the game of the same name. The flightless birds of Bird Island face the greatest challenge of their lives when the evil inhabitants of Piggy Island arrive. It features the voice talents of Jason Sudeikis (Red), Josh Gad (Chuck), Danny McBride (Bomb), Maya Rudolph (Matilda), Bill Hader (Leonard), Peter Dinklage (Mighty Eagle), Kate McKinnon (Stella), and Sean Penn (Terence). It is rated PG.
Despite its PG rating, “The Angry Birds Movie” contains a joke about reproduction that’s uncomfortably adult for a children’s film. Not all of its content contains as much innuendo, though, but therein lies the problem. It’s not funny, and the birds aren’t angry. It’s a video game movie, for sure, but the story is so forced that you might as well have watched 97 minutes of a good Angry Birds play through instead.
Highlights
Fun action in Act Three
The movie really kicks into high gear in Act Three, where it lives up to its premise of being a game about Angry Birds and sees birds being flung against structures to defeat pigs. It’s exciting and energetic, and is one part of the movie that’s worth watching.
Bird and pig puns
If you enjoy corny jokes then you’ll appreciate the wordplay in Angry Birds. This is one of the highlights of the film, since it never lets go of an opportunity to make a bird or pig joke. Keep your eyes open for signs and messages scribbled all over the buildings, and you’ll realise that the humour is more textual than visual or emotional.
Leonard (Bill Hader) and his hogs in “The Angry Birds Movie.” (Sony Pictures)
Letdowns
Red isn’t angry, he’s grumpy
Red seems more irritated and grouchy than having anger issues. Before you say that he can’t get too agitated since it’s a children’s movie, remember that Donald Duck is the classic angry bird, which shows that it is possible for an irate character to be depicted in an acceptable fashion in a cartoon. Red is more Frustrated Bird than Angry Bird, and is just meh.
Boring characters
There’s nothing that hooks you about the characters. Besides Red, none of the other birds are even the slightest bit close to being angry. On the contrary, the pigs get angrier than the birds, but even Leonard (Bill Hader) the Pig King isn’t all that interesting. It’s really about a bunch of boring birds who launch an attack on a bunch of less boring pigs.
Slow setups and exposition
The first two Acts are a painful attempt to create a reason for the Angry Birds scenario at the end of the film. And it’s completely unnecessary, since you’ll pretty much accept any rationale for the Angry Birds to do what they do, if you’re watching such a film. It’s such a bloated beginning and middle that you don’t actually miss much by skipping this portion.
Chuck (Josh Gad), Red, and Bomb (Danny McBride) in “The Angry Birds Movie.” (Sony Pictures)
“The Angry Birds Movie” fails to take flight — just like its protagonists.
Should you watch this if it’s free? OK.
Should you watch this at weekday movie ticket prices? No.
Score: 2.0/5
“The Angry Birds Movie” opens in cinemas 26 May, 2016 (Thursday).
