Ratchet & Clank

The trend of turning computer-based video games into movies (and vice versa) started in the 1980s and became a popular trend in the 90s, but Sony Entertainment figured out a new dynamic for the 2016 release of the computer-animated sci-fi action-adventure "Ratchet & Clank" (PG, 1:34). Pong, the first commercially successful video game, came out in 1972 and became the inspiration for "Tron", the 1982 film in which a human being gets trapped inside a game (although one much more complex than Pong). The Tron movie spawned several video games, other entertainment products and a 2010 sequel. In the meantime, video games which became feature films (some live-action, some animated and some a combination of both) included "Super Mario Brothers" (1993), the "Mortal Combat" movies ('95 and '97), the "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" films (2001 and 2003), the "Resident Evil" series (2002-2017) and "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" (2010). More recent examples include the nostalgia-fueled films "Wreck-It Ralph" (2012) and "Pixels" (2015), not to mention 2016's animated fantasy epic "Warcraft".

With a "Lara Croft" reboot planned (starring Alicia Vikander), the cross-pollination between game consoles and movie theaters doesn't look to end any time soon, especially when you consider the new "Ratchet & Clank" template. Croft's video game franchise got a reboot in 2013, followed by the reboot of her film franchise, both of which serve as prequels to the earlier versions of the game and the Angelina Jolie movies. Likewise, 2016's "Ratchet & Clank" film is an origin story for the characters (whose first video game appeared in 2002), but this film was actually developed in conjunction with the video game reboot, which is based partially on the film, which had its original 2015 release date delayed, leading to a matching (coordinated) postponement in the release of the new game. Of course, all that is just background to a movie which, as a feature film, needs to stand on its own and entertain audiences whether they're gamers or think that "Ratchet & Clank" is just a bad name for an auto repair shop.

Ratchet (voiced by James Arnold Taylor) is a Lombax, a cat-like creature with especially large ears and thick eyebrows. He's an earnest mechanic who works for Grimroth Razz (John Goodman) repairing and maintaining spaceships. Ratchet's a relatively small creature, but he has big dreams. He wants to join his heroes, the Galactic Rangers, fellow anthropomorphic animals who travel around the Solona Galaxy battling evildoers (kind of like an animated "Guardians of the Galaxy"). The Rangers' leader is Captain Qwark (Jim Ward) a large attention-seeking humanoid with a larger-than-life personality (think Buzz Lightyear on steroids) and ego to match. Ratchet is crushed when he responds to a Galaxy Rangers open try-out, only for his hero to tell him face-to-face that he doesn't have what it takes to be one of them.

Ratchet gets the opportunity to prove himself when he meets up with an undersized but sentient factory-rejected robot whom he calls Clank (David Kaye). Clank carries information about the evil Chairman Drek (Paul Giamatti), the leader of the Blarg, and his involvement in the recent destruction of several uninhabited planets. Working together, Ratchet and Clank are able to throw Drek's plans off track and prove themselves worthy of joining the Galactic Rangers. The adorable title characters work with Qwark, Cora (Bella Thorne), Brax (Vincent Tong), Elaris (Rosario Dawson) and others to keep Drek from meeting his increasingly dangerous goals. Meanwhile, Drek works with his robot henchman, Victor Von Ion (Sylvester Stallone), and his head scientist, Doctor Nefarious (Armin Shimerman) to infiltrate the Galactic Rangers and move forward with his plans, but Drek's not this story's only villain with a plan.

"Ratchet & Clank" is an entertaining and smart blending of various elements and characters from the video game series with a new origin story. Screenwriters T.J. Fixman, Gerry Swallow and Kevin Munroe (who also directs, along with Jericca Cleland) give us plenty of action and some good life lessons which parents will appreciate and will (hopefully) inspire kids, but the script is a short on laughs (including mature humor that pops up in the games). The voice work of the stars in the cast is predictably reliable, but can't outshine the relative unknowns (some of whom voiced the video game characters), proving that it's not necessary to stock every animated movie with big-name voice talent to create an entertaining product. This film's biggest strength is its creative and state-of-the-art animation. Even without viewing the film in 3D, we see remarkable detail and depth in its characters and backgrounds, giving the audience the impression that they already know what the objects and textures would feel like. This is one of those rare video game adaptations that's not only visually stunning, but entertaining AND family friendly. "B+"

Cute flick with potential but managed to get boring. I guess it was too busy and seemed not to have a point.

At first I was sceptical about watching this film as I read the critic reviews from other sites but decided to go to watch it. After watching this film I'm so glad I did. This film is truly a film for the fans but is also a great film for everyone. Even if you have never played the video games, this film will still be easy to watch. Don't listen to the stupid critic reviewers who don't know how to have fun as this film is certainly fun. Even though there were many jokes, the only main bad side to this film was that it was lacking the innuendos which made it so famous in its original trilogy. Apart from that though, well written film.

If there were ever a pitch to be greeted by a nearly universal pleasantly bemused "...oh! Why...?", it's Ratchet & Clank: The Movie. Let's be real. The Playstation games by Insomniac are stupendous, gleefully destructive fun, but already cinematic enough between gameplay and cut-scenes. Plus, it's roughly a decade too late for the series' peak cultural relevance anyway. Could it be that Sony is further suckling on the Marvel teat, and endeavouring to start their own interconnected PlayStation movie universe (please no)? We do get nods to Sly Cooper and Jak and Daxter here. And if you remember them since you've been knee-high to a sand-mouse (as I evidently do), you're probably in the fairly limited demographic who will genuinely enjoy Ratchet & Clank above the age of 10.

Yes, 10 - no 'Rated T for Teen' here. The big screen debut of everyone's favourite Lombax/diminutive robot tag-team skews much younger than the firearms-heavy games, likely to entice a new generation of audience/gamers. Unfortunately, the film suffers heavily for it. In lieu of the games' creatively and cathartically destructive combat and cheeky humour, we're confronted with a slew of sanitized space laser tag, with only some inventive nostalgia punching it up. Even worse: the screenwriters resort to barfing, aliens texting, or repeated use of the word "really ?" as a punchline. There's the occasional sturdy gag that steps it up ("Wilhelm!!" and hat tips to Conan the Barbarian and Ferris Bueller) that speak to the games' wacky irreverence, but even these are generally chortle-worthy at best. Qwarktastic this ain't.

Sure, Ratchet's joys never lay in plot. Still, they've certainly (clumsily) punched up the Star Wars similarities in adapting the first game here, while trimming its sociopolitical critique of corporatism and pollution in Chairman Drek's planetary bricolage (no smarmy PSAs, for one). The pace may be zippy and the animation colourful, but the execution is drearily lazy. Just when the action starts to kindle embers of fun, it's quickly snuffed whenever the film stops to meditate on an overlong double-cross sequence, or 'the true meaning of heroism' (yawn). More irritatingly, while the PS4 calibre animation still looks great on the big screen, the universe itself feels distressingly claustrophobic. For a game series initially applauded for its Pixar level of commitment to surreal, inventive imagery, the action is largely crammed into Ratchet's planet, Veldin (including one canyon jaunt that uncomfortably recalls The Phantom Menace's podracing of all things... yikes) and Drek's ship, leaving out the series' flair for world-hopping wonder.

So: is there redemption to be had, or just death by Blargian Snagglebeast? Not so fast, cadets. The movie still retains a huge amount of the games' amiable charm, which hits the nostalgia buttons hard for fans (Yoo-hoo, Mr. Zurkon!), and skirts by as just endearing enough for kids and drowsy parents alike. The action sequences are still tons of fun, even finding a credible basis for the games' weapon switching, which allows for cameos from a gaggle of classic gameplay arsenal (highlights include the Sheepinator, and - yes, it had to be said - the Pyrocitor). This, along with Ratchet's swingshot 'web-slinging', keep the combat inventive and exuberant. It all gets a bit unfocused by the end, with the final space battle drifting into a clanging CGI blur, but the proceedings retain enough discerning silliness to keep the vibe pleasant rather than discordant.

For a film that clearly invested serious money into saddling a stupendous A-list supporting cast into thankless stock supporting roles (you can just make out John Goodman and Sylvester Stallone grunting in the background as 'mentor' and 'thug' respectively), the primary joy still lies in hearing the original voice cast enthusiastically reprise their defining characters. James Arnold Taylor and David Kaye are still delightfully droll as the titular duo, and their camaraderie, comedic timing and banter are still enough to sell even the most tired gags. Jim Ward's posturing buffoon Captain Quark may flit clumsily from plot point to plot point, but he's still bombastically hilarious enough to remain as lovable a doofus as ever, while Armin Shimerman's Dr. Nefarious infuses the film with the energy that only an exquisitely hammy pantomime villain can. The other star inclusions don't fare as well: Paul Giamatti's preening as Chairman Drek is instantly forgettable, while Rosario Dawson mugs desperately for laughs that just aren't there, teetering between 'Generic Strong Female Background Character 101' and 'high-strung nerd'. The film's insertion of too many instantly forgettable 'Galactic Rangers' side characters also feels imbalanced, and steals too much focus from the infinitely more entertaining leads.

"It's about as thrilling as watching someone else play a video game" is normally a movie epitaph. Here, though Ratchet & Clank is lively and charming enough to keep seasoned fans and younger kids entertained, newcomers might start to prefer peeking over the shoulder of a gaming roommate instead. The final irony: the most recent Ratchet & Clank PS4 video game based on the movie based on the video game is apparently fantastic. Play that instead.

-6/10

Based on a video game, I was interested in watching this film because I remembered playing it as a kid. I didn't really know that there was a story behind the game, but it felt a bit nostalgic to watch. However, I don't remember much of the game, and so thought the story itself to be very average and not that interesting. A typical narrative of boy admires hero, who then doesn't turn out to be what he expects.

The characters aren't that well developed either. We only get a bit of background into Ratchet and Dr. Nefarious' characters, but other than them, we know nothing of the others. We know how Clank came to be, but it isn't explained why a malfunctioned robot would act the way he does. As well, Ratchet always seem to be a little unmotivated and the reasoning for this isn't clear.

The animation is cute though, and the weird creatures do provide some comedic relief. There are quite a few funny scenes as well, but not enough to keep you fully engaged in the narrative. In addition, action scenes are brief, and could have been longer to create more suspense.

On the whole, I think the film speaks more towards the fans of the video game. As I can't remember much of the game, I found this film fun for little kids perhaps, but not for me. It isn't such a bore to watch, but I would not recommend others watch this unless they have small children or are fans of the game.