Cast: Bill Nighy, Will Arnett, Zach Galifianakis & (Voices) Nicholas Cage, Sam Rockwell, Jon Favreau, Penelope Cruz, Steve Buscemi
Director: Hoyt Yeatman Jr.
Rating: * * *
A comedy adventure with lovable rodents(live action) playing covertly trained government spies, this is definitely a film that is likely to be enjoyed by all animal lovers. Armed with the latest high-tech spy equipment, Darwin (Sam Rockwell), Blaster (Tracy Morgan), Juarez (Penelope Cruz), Mooch a fly that transmits video data, and Speckles (Nicholas Cage) are the G Force rescued and trained by Dr Ben (Zach Galifianakis) at a soon-to-be-shut-down-by-the-FBI, covert government facility.
To earn a reprieve, Ben needs to convince the FBI of the wide-ranging abilities of his G Force. So the force is let loose to earn their stripes in an operation that prevents sycophantic machines from taking over control of the earth. It’s a kind of cross between A-force and Transformers, the guinea pigs have to save civilisation from a dastardly appliance czar aiming for global domination.
The plot is weak but the overall construction of the narrative is exciting enough. It’s a pleasant and wholly enjoyable ride through and through. Visual Effects supervisor turned director, Hoyt Yeatman Jr sets-up an invigorating debut with this modestly primed effusive entertainer. The speedy opening sequence showcases some dazzling visual effects created by holography and CG stunts, as the G Force infiltrates the estate of coffeemaker king Leonard Saber (Bill Nighy) of Saberling technologies and stumble upon his plans to eradicate civilisation codenamed Operation Clusterstorm.
After being deployed as civilians the G Force meets up with pet shop layabout Hurley (Jon Favreau)and territorial hamster Bucky (Steve Buscemi) and after a few interesting comic interludes, they regroup to re-establish their credentials as a valuable force. The narrative does not have much of a story to work on and the conflicts that arise are also pretty light-weight, well in keeping with the film’s overall kid-friendly outlook. There’s quite a bit of action – the set-pieces are memorably orchestrated yielding a rich run of espionage and adventure and the final showdown between the pets and the raging appliances also renders a deeper message- the eventual triumph of good (however tiny) over evil (even if it appears big and far more powerful), one which we all can believe in wholeheartedly!
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