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<\/p>\nBy Bob Garver<\/p>\n
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As a rule, movies based on video games are always terrible. There isn\u2019t a single one that could be considered a critical darling. \u201cWreck-it Ralph\u201d doesn\u2019t count; it technically made up its derivative main characters. \u201cThe Angry Birds Movie\u201d tries to buck this trend by being based on game with a non-traditional format (a phone app as opposed to an arcade or console game) and by featuring some impressive animation and decent voice work. It succeeds\u2026 in a way.<\/p>\n
Red (Jason Sudeikis) is the only angry bird on the otherwise blissful Bird Island. But he\u2019s only angry because everyone is a jerk to him. I\u2019m going to avoid the obvious what-caused-what joke in this movie overloaded with jokes about fowl and what they hatch from. It\u2019s actually a wonder there aren\u2019t more angry birds, since everyone else on the island is so mean and inconsiderate that you\u2019d think they would anger each other. Red freaks out at a at a birthday party and is forced to attend Anger Management Class. Wait, Red\u2019s reputation has been defined by one trait his whole life and he\u2019s just now having to attend Anger Management? That\u2019s a stretch even by this movie\u2019s logic. Anger Management is led by the aggressively peaceful Matilda (Maya Rudolph) and consists of the speedy Chuck (Josh Gad), the friendly-but-explosive Bomb (Danny McBride) and the terrifying Terence (Sean Penn). Two-time Oscar winner Penn has only to grunt to make Terence the most interesting character in the movie.<\/p>\n
Class is broken up by the arrival to Bird Island of a colony of pigs, led by King Leonard (Bill Hader). The pigs instantly win over most of the native birds, but Red doesn\u2019t like them one bit. By which I mean he\u2019s suspicious. But he also just plain doesn\u2019t like them. Everybody else dismisses him, because he doesn\u2019t like anything. Still, Red wonders what are the pigs planning with all those slingshots, trampolines, zip lines, and dynamite. He enlists the help of Chuck and Bomb to seek out the mythical Mighty Eagle (Peter Dinklage) for help. Alas, Mighty Eagle turns out to be a total turkey. And Red makes it back to town just in time to see the pigs absconding with everybody\u2019s eggs. The solution to the problem is for everybody to get angry.<\/p>\n
The film is ruled by immature humor. Do you or your kids like the idea of birds crashing into things? How about green pigs bouncing around like idiots ? Jiggly dancing at every turn? Every bird, pig, and egg joke under the sun? You\u2019ll find it all here, even if you weren\u2019t looking for it. Don\u2019t worry about the humor always playing to the kids, there are a few jokes thrown in for the adults. Still immature humor, just aimed at mature viewers.<\/p>\n
So why did I say that \u201cThe Angry Birds Movie\u201d succeeds (\u2026in a way)? Because in all honesty it is the best movie based on a video game ever made. The animation is legitimately top notch and I can\u2019t deny that I laughed a few times. There were many, many more times where I groaned, but the laughs are there. Terence absolutely steals the movie and a surprisingly high percentage of Bomb\u2019s jokes land. I even laughed heartily at a throwaway line that wasn\u2019t intended for the kids watching this kids\u2019 movie. Plus I kind of want to play the game now. I want to waste time seeing how much damage I can do launching different kinds of birds at different kinds of pigs. It probably would have been a lot more fun than watching this movie. It\u2019s a very relative type of success.<\/p>\n
One and a Half Stars out of Five.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Angry Birds Movie\u201d is rated PG for rude humor and action. Its running time is 97 minutes.<\/p>\n