Review: 'G Force' lacks force

G Force

Cast: Bill Nighy, Will Arnett, Zach Galifianakis, with the voices of Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, Jon Favreau, Penelope Cruz, Steve Buscemi and Tracy Morgan
Director: Hoyt Yeatman
Rating: **
U/A

Ok I may by nature not be given to too many 'awwws', but if there is something that a film like G Force tries to elicit it is the 'awww', rather many of them. Why you ask? Well, why else would you have as your protagonists three guinea pigs and a mole as special agents solving dangerous covert operations, the likes of which even the FBI are unable to perform. Not to forget the fly - which apart from flying, has a camera atop it, and delivers messages jumping from keypad to keypad.

Yes. So there are no 'awww' moments. All you have are ideas and scenes that you have seen in half a dozen animated flicks. There is a female amongst the three guinea pigs, Juarez  (Penelope Cruz), whose attention is being vied by the two others (Sam Rockwell and Tracy Morgan). And her motto remains, 'If you are interested in someone then you should act uninterested. Only then will he be interested.'

It's not the most original line and causes amongst the two suitors needless confusion. When in the beginning of a mission, Cruz emerges from the water, shaking off every drop, her wet fur swaying in the act (like almost a woman would her hair), it is hard stifling a yawn. You have seen it in Ice Age; you have seen it in many others. And when you have jokes like "I look like Paris Hilton's Chihuahua', after a little girl dresses her up, or 'this must be against the Geneva convention' when nail polish is applied on her, they don't necessarily have you gasping for breath.

And of course the dances along with the credits that have become de rigueur in most animated movies. So what have you? Roaches with synchronized moves and guinea pigs shaking their derriere to shinning disco balls.

There is also an utterly boring scene of self-realisation when the rodents learn that they have not been genetically-mutated but are ordinary critters. After some even more boring pep-talk, do the rodents embark on their final mission to save the world.

The plot is that of a government project where guinea pigs, moles, flies and roaches are being trained to accomplish covert operations, being shut down. However the guinea pigs, who can talk English with the help of micro-translators are determined to prove themselves and bust an operation of using everyday electrical appliances to sabotage earth.

Somethings, however, do work. Microwave ovens and coffee machines coming to life is quite cute and when in the finale all of these appliances come together to form a giant robot as such, determined to cause wreckage, the pun on the mindless Transformers can't be missed. The 3D does enhance the viewing experience, be it the fireworks in the end, or the fly entering a human nose, and the chase sequence in the end.