‘G-Force’ Tries and Dies
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-----‘G-Force’ is about Guinea Pigs trying to become secret agents. They have the equipment and training; they just need the mission to prove their worth to the government. Initially they find success, but when it turns out the data they’ve collected isn’t what they thought, they’ll have to fight to ensure that their whole program isn’t shut down. And the only way to do that is to prove that the data they collected has been altered, and uncover the truth behind their struggle.
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-----‘G-Force’ employs an all star cast including the likes of Penelope Cruz, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, Jon Favreau, Nicolas Cage, Bill Nighy, and Zach Galifianakis. All but the last two are voices, most of which are indistinguishable, generic, and boring. I love that group of actors, but why does it take talking guinea pigs to unite them? Even Galifianakis, who plays the G-Force handler, Ben, can’t get any real laughs because he has nothing to say! Director Hoyt Yeatman has him standing around in a few scenes, and that’s pretty much that. He may as well being wearing a leash. He does have one joke that was very campy, and somehow funny, but it can be seen in the trailer. Ultimately, I just expect more from this amazing ensemble cast, but unfortunately, I don’t think they could have saved the ‘G-Force’ script on their best day.
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-----The synopsis I’ve written above should make it clear that this movie pretty much takes itself seriously as an action film. There are literally tons of battles and huge effects, but the sad truth is…they’re guinea pigs. Why would I watch tiny guinea pigs fight when I could see giant robots fight? This brings up the films bizarre likeness to ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.’ In the third act home appliances do exactly what the small Transformers did, coming alive and attacking. Except here, the transformations are simple, and it looks like one giant rip off of a movie that came out exactly ONE MONTH ago! The madness continues as the robots combine into a mega robot, just like they did in ‘Revenge of the Fallen.’ Add this to the fact that pretty much every joke falls flat despite your age group, and there’s just no real reason to see this film.
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-----Technically, as I mentioned, the film is fairly impressive. While the transforming appliances just look crappy compared to ‘Revenge of the Fallen,’ the guinea pigs and other CG effects are solid. The musical score is generic and plain, but the outrageous and epic cinematography makes up for this. Call it just another stupid action flick cliché if you will, but I enjoyed the swooping camera and crazy shots, even though they were of guinea pigs.
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-----In the end, there’s not too much to say about ‘G-Force.’ I don’t think parents need to see it with their kids, because there are a number of vastly superior family films available. On the bright side however, if you do find yourself sucked into a theater or forced to give it a rental, it’s very bearable for most of its short runtime, and certainly isn’t offensive or inappropriate in any way. The reason the film garners two stars is because of the fact that it was so harmless and even shameless at times. I was never bored, disgusted, or overly aggravated by the stupidity. I merely observed nonchalantly, and was disappointed to see a film with the makings of quality children’s entertainment avoid tapping the potential that just may have been present. Perhaps the defining example of the film’s lack of engaging the audience comes from Hurley, the fat guinea pig. He’s supposed to be lovable, funny, and relatable, but is instead just mildly annoying, like much of the film. Darwin, the main guinea pig shares this annoyance for most of the film, but he too is a very bland character. Ultimately, a forgiving viewer may find this to be adequate entertainment, but for most spectators it’s just a forgettable and unnecessary film.
Official Trailer |