Film Reviews

G-Force

• Rating:
• Director: Hoyt Yeatman
• Starring: Starring, Sam Rockwell, Zach Galifianakis, Will Arnett, Bill Nighy, Nicolas Cage
• Details: US/TBC (PG)

The Commando Gerbil sub-genre is one that has never really been fully explored on celluloid, until now that is. Hollywood uber-producer Jerry Bruckheimer puts his weighty presence behind this fun production, mixing convincing CGI guinea pigs and their not-so-convincing traditionally filmed counterparts, for a kid's film that really should pull in the young 'uns as the zaniness of blockbuster season comes to a close. Handled with impressive aplomb by first-time helmer, Yeatman, this is a slick and fun production that offers surprisingly explosive eye-candy and laughs. A threesome of Guinea Pigs are trained to all aspects of espionage; assembled with the purpose of getting to places that regular people can't, and taking down the bad guys. When the FBI suspect a dodgy billionaire of wrong-doing, G-Force are the first team they look to for help; but when an operation goes badly, they are shut-down and sent back to the pet store. Whilst there, they learn about their past, motivating them to fix the problems in their present and save Earth from an enigmatic, dastardly wrong sort intent on destroying the planet. There's also a love triangle sub-plot involving a sexy Latin rodent, but we won't go there. With the current craze studios seem to have with flexing their 3-D muscles, it's actually refreshing to see a film that really embraces the format, and one that also doesn't necessarily need it to justify forking over the dough to take the offspring. G-Force is just a lot of fun, anyway, and despite its obvious intention to appeal to younger audience members, some sterling voice work from the likes of Jon Favreau, Nic Cage and Sam Rockwell, and bouts of well-handled action, will keep most entertained regardless of age. While the guinea pigs are great fun, anytime an actor is on screen the film sags. It goes without saying that The Hangover star Galifianakis is wasted, but Nighy and Arnett also appear to be merely making up the numbers. A shame, but hardly a crippling flaw, this is still the best film about commando guinea pigs I've ever seen.

Review by Mike Sheridan