Directors: Clay Kaytis, Fergal Reilly
Writer: Jon Vitti
Stars: Peter Dinklage, Jason Sudeikis, Kate McKinnon
Writer: Jon Vitti
Stars: Peter Dinklage, Jason Sudeikis, Kate McKinnon
PLOT
That’s right: a film has been made out of the addictive
smartphone/tablet game Angry Birds, where catapults ping flightless
birds at the little pink piggies who have stolen their eggs. This movie
is driven by a naked commercial imperative – though perhaps no more than
any other film – and it doesn’t match up to the hyperactive, clever
surreality of the Lego Movie. Yet there is a kind of pleasure and
fascination, mixed with exasperation, in seeing how the game has been
mangled and bent into the shape of the conventional animation narrative,
with zappy little dialogue moments, funny characters and some
sophisticated touches for the grownups (including a nod to The Shining,
of all things).
Jason Sudekis voices Red, the grumpy red
bird with big eyebrows who is the star of the game. After a rage
outburst, he amusingly has to attend anger management sessions, but then
the piggies arrive, pretending to be the birds’ friends while scheming
to take away their eggs. To rescue them, Red has to rediscover his inner
righteous anger and to re-invade the piggies’ domain. For this he must
use the catapult the piggies have, erm, given them as a present, and he
must also detonate the huge mounds of TNT that the piggies have left
lying around. The sheer contrived ridiculousness is part of the fun. But
you really do have to know the game.
Enjoy This Movie
