Review: G-FORCE is Soul-Less and By-the-Numbers (But it Could be Worse!)

Subscribe via: RSS EMAIL

Categorized | Latest

Tags : G-Force, Movies, Reviews, two-torch reviews

Review: G-FORCE is Soul-Less and By-the-Numbers (But it Could be Worse!)

Posted on 23 July 2009 by Brent Hartinger, Editor

Two Torches (Out of Five)

Improvements in CGI technology have made it possible to tell stories that were literally impossible to tell a decade ago, at least in live action.

Stories like, say, a group of Guinea pigs and a mole who make up a special team of rodent FBI agents.

Here’s the thing: if you have small kids, you’ll probably have no choice but to take them to see G-Force, and they’ll probably enjoy it.

If you don’t have kids, there’s no reason to go. Trust me, this is not one of those animated movies that pretends to be for kids, but is really aimed at adults.

Basically, it’s not Up. It’s not even Monsters Vs. Aliens.

I’d say it’s Alvin on the Chipmonks, but I don’t have kids and I wasn’t reviewing fantasy movies back then, so I never saw that one.

Anyway, believe me when I say this is a movie for kids, and only kids. The plot is broad, the action is fast, and the sentiment is cheap.

What is the plot, you say? Uh, something about a mad titan of industry (Underworld’s Bill Nighy) who is attempting to destroy the world by turning house-hold appliances into Transformer-like killing machines. Meanwhile, the aforementioned “G-Force” (voiced by Nicolas Cage, Steve Buscemi, Tracy Morgan, and Penelope Cruz) try to stop him while also trying to prove that their program should not be eliminated.

That said, the movie didn’t make me angry the way some of these soul-less, by-the-numbers studio pictures do. You know what I mean? Movies like, well, Transformers?

It’s just mediocre, not offensive.

Well, not entirely. Should I bring this up? Um, okay, there are two things I found weird about the movie. I thought it was cool that the movie had some racial diversity, but boy, they sure played up the racial stereotypes. I guess it’s hard to have a rodent who’s obviously a member of a racial minority without using stereotypical inflections. But I still thought this was odd.

Second, there’s a sub-plot about the members of G-Force being “genetically altered.” They all take a lot of pride in their being “superior” to other rodents. At no point do any of the Guinea pigs say to the humans, (1) “Wait. You guys did what to our genes?!” and (2) “Well, yes, we have different genes, but that doesn’t mean we’re superior to other rodents. Because if we thought that, we’re pretty much blatant, eugenics-advocating racists, right?”

I’m thinking about this movie too much, aren’t I?

Hey, did I mention it’s also in three-D?!