Directed by Hoyt Yeatman
Featuring Voices by Tracy Morgan, Sam Rockwell, Zach Galifianakas, Nicolas Cage, Steve Buscemi
“I have no ferret in me, Hurley. That has never been proven.”
Steve Buscemi as Bucky
I have said it a million times going into a review for a film like this: I have a soft spot for the talking animal film, whether it be CGI or live action, I love the critters. But, as you know, there are more bad than good in this particular genre. So, is G-Force one of the good ones, or one of the cringe worthy ones?
The Movie
First things first: this is a film about guinea pigs with special training trying to fight the evil in the world. So, this film doesn’t have any deep philosophical meaning or complex plot. And, this isn’t a Pixar film either, so don’t expect clever dialogue or concepts.
The film opens as Ben (Zach Galifianakis) is discussing with Darwin (Sam Rockwell) about a recent mission. It doesn’t matter that these are cute little furry guinea pigs: they take this stuff seriously.
The rest of the team is revealed and are voiced by some big names: Nicolas Cage, Jon Faveau, Tracy Morgan, and Penelope Cruz. And even though the FBI wants to shut down the “G-Force” project, the team has grown very close and still believes in righting the wrongs of the world.
So, when the evil Leonard Saber (Bill Nighy) tries to take over the world, G-Force will have to take him on without the permission of the FBI.
That is about all I can say about the plot of the film. This is a family film, so things never get to dark or complicated.
The voice work by all involved is entertaining, except for Cruz and Cage who alternate between being difficult to understand and just plain grating. Galifianakis, Rockwell and Buscemi are funny and of course, Bill Nighy is just wonderfully droll and amazing.
Now, onto the biggest problem in this film: the dialogue. Wow, it is just really painful in parts. Every catchphrase and slang term of the past 3 years is just forced into the dialogue in some really unfunny ways. It is not sprinkled lightly throughout to make the film feel fresh and current; it is overdone and just not skillful writing. Take note writers of G-Force: look at any Pixar film, or the recent Coraline and The Fantastic Mr. Fox on how to do a family film that is suitable for all ages but doesn’t dumb anything down, whether it is the plot or the dialogue.
So, all things considered, G-Force is a bit of a disappointment. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t the worst family film I have seen recently, there are a few really cute moments. But overall, it doesn’t succeed as well as other family films released recently. Perhaps put it in on the Netflix queue to take a look at, but you don’t have to worry about making a permanent space on the shelf for this one.
5/10
The Video
G-Force in anamorphic widescreen with a 1080p MPEG-4 AVC transfer. While the film is a bit of a disappointment, the presentation is not. This is a very respectable transfer featuring exquisite black levels, an amazing level of detail and an impressive color palette.
8/10
The Audio
G-Force is presented in English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 with an optional French and Spanish language track presented in DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 as well. There are also optional subtitles in English, French and Spanish. The dialogue and ambient sound is impressively presented with a nice usage of all speakers in a 5. 1 environment.
8/10
The Packaging and Bonus Features
G-Force is standard Blu Ray amaray case with some cute critters on the cover.
Quite a few bonus features are available on this release. First up, a “Cine Explore” commentary with the director Hoyt Yeatman and the characters Darwin and Blaster is an entertaining listen. A commentary with Yeatman plays while picture and picture shots are shown and the development is discussed. You can also opt to have the commentary supplemented with video “extras” that will play too that show additional footage of the voice work or effects.
“Bruckheimer Animated” is offered and it is a look at the visual effects from other Bruckheimer produced films. Blaster’s Boot Camp is basically an extended trailer featuring the character Blaster.
G-Force Mastermind shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone: it is revealed that Yeatman’s own 5 year old son came up with the basic premise for the film after his Kindergarten class had a guinea pig as a classroom pet.
There are also some deleted scenes, music video and bloopers offered.
8/10
Overall (Not an Average) 5.5/10
The Review
The Movie 5/10
The Video 8/10
The Audio 8/10
The Packaging and Bonus Features 8/10
Overall (not an average) 5.5/10