‘Ratchet & Clank’ should entertain kids, but is otherwise quite generic

Posted on May 6, 2016

By MARK VIOLA

One of the most consistently disappointing film genres is video game adaptations. For years Hollywood has been trying to translate a video game into a satisfying movie. And in almost every single case, the film failed spectacularly. This year we have some promising possibilities with “Warcraft” this summer and “Assassin’s Creed” in December.

I wasn’t actually aware we had a third adaptation on the docket until about a month ago when I started seeing trailers and commercials for “Ratchet & Clank,” an animated film based on the popular video game series which first debuted in 2002 on Playstation 2.

I’ve never played any of the games, which now number more than a dozen including spin-offs, so I can’t judge the movie as an adaptation of the games themselves, but I can tell you how it is as a movie.

And in that, “Ratchet & Clank” is a pretty generic–there’s that word again–space action movie. The characters are relatively interesting and the voice cast, including several making the jump from the games themselves, has fun with the rather wacky situations and settings.

It’s clear the writers were trying to make this a witty film, with a lot of self-aware humor about the events underway along with jokes about video games and movies in general. There is one particular gag that probably will go over the head of anyone who is not a film-buff but it is downright
hilarious.

Unfortunately, the humor doesn’t always work. In fact, it falls flat more often than not. Everybody has that one friend who, in a group setting, tries a bit too hard to get a laugh from the others. That’s pretty much this movie.

I said last week in my review of “The Huntsman: Winter’s War” that a film can be completely generic without being offensively bad and still offer some cinematic enjoyment. That film failed the test. This one does not.

The movie is rated PG for action and some rude humor.

(This is a abbreviated version of the full review available in our printed or e-edition papers.)

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