Ratchet and Clank (2016)

As a huge fan of the game series I was very excited about this film. Unfortunately it was really average in my opinion. The film at many points captured the spirit of the game well and there are absolutely some great moments in the movie. As a big fan of the games, just seeing those beloved characters in their own movie is really cool. However, my problem is I feel like it should have been better. There are some funny moments in the movie for sure, but it just isn't as funny as the games are. I think the mistake that was made is that the movie was aimed more at kids, most of whom at this point probably have not played the original game (seeing as it came out almost 15 years ago). For that reason I felt like a lot of the humor was much more tame than it is in the games and so therefore a lot of times the jokes just were not funny in the movie. Also I thought the cool weapons from the games were not really showcased enough, not to mention there was hardly any appearances of the famous wrench that Ratchet uses. However, the main issue is that the movie feels more for kids than it is for the fans which is unfortunate. However, if you are a big fan of the games like I am, I still encourage you to see the movie because there definitely are some enjoyable moments and some funny moments. It is not a bad movie at all, it just should have been better.

Fmovies: The trend of turning computer-based video games into movies (and vice versa) started in the 1980s and became a popular trend in the 90s, but Sony Entertainment figured out a new dynamic for the 2016 release of the computer-animated sci-fi action-adventure "Ratchet & Clank" (PG, 1:34). Pong, the first commercially successful video game, came out in 1972 and became the inspiration for "Tron", the 1982 film in which a human being gets trapped inside a game (although one much more complex than Pong). The Tron movie spawned several video games, other entertainment products and a 2010 sequel. In the meantime, video games which became feature films (some live-action, some animated and some a combination of both) included "Super Mario Brothers" (1993), the "Mortal Combat" movies ('95 and '97), the "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" films (2001 and 2003), the "Resident Evil" series (2002-2017) and "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" (2010). More recent examples include the nostalgia-fueled films "Wreck-It Ralph" (2012) and "Pixels" (2015), not to mention 2016's animated fantasy epic "Warcraft".

With a "Lara Croft" reboot planned (starring Alicia Vikander), the cross-pollination between game consoles and movie theaters doesn't look to end any time soon, especially when you consider the new "Ratchet & Clank" template. Croft's video game franchise got a reboot in 2013, followed by the reboot of her film franchise, both of which serve as prequels to the earlier versions of the game and the Angelina Jolie movies. Likewise, 2016's "Ratchet & Clank" film is an origin story for the characters (whose first video game appeared in 2002), but this film was actually developed in conjunction with the video game reboot, which is based partially on the film, which had its original 2015 release date delayed, leading to a matching (coordinated) postponement in the release of the new game. Of course, all that is just background to a movie which, as a feature film, needs to stand on its own and entertain audiences whether they're gamers or think that "Ratchet & Clank" is just a bad name for an auto repair shop.

Ratchet (voiced by James Arnold Taylor) is a Lombax, a cat-like creature with especially large ears and thick eyebrows. He's an earnest mechanic who works for Grimroth Razz (John Goodman) repairing and maintaining spaceships. Ratchet's a relatively small creature, but he has big dreams. He wants to join his heroes, the Galactic Rangers, fellow anthropomorphic animals who travel around the Solona Galaxy battling evildoers (kind of like an animated "Guardians of the Galaxy"). The Rangers' leader is Captain Qwark (Jim Ward) a large attention-seeking humanoid with a larger-than-life personality (think Buzz Lightyear on steroids) and ego to match. Ratchet is crushed when he responds to a Galaxy Rangers open try-out, only for his hero to tell him face-to-face that he doesn't have what it takes to be one of them.

Ratchet gets the opportunity to prove himself when he meets up with an undersized but sentient factory-rejected robot whom he calls Clank (David Kaye). Clank carries information about the evil Chairman Drek (Paul Giamatti), the leader of the Blarg, and his involvement in the recent destruction of several uninhabited planets. Working together, Ratchet and Clank are able to throw Drek's plans off track and prove themselves wor

Let's start with this - I never played any Ratchet & Clank games, however I played the Sly Cooper games and I have an idea of what Ratchet & Clank games are all about. Point is I went to see the movie completely without any expectations, except the trailer gave me the idea it is gonna be a sci-fi adventure cartoon. So I came out of the cinema, just few hours ago.

Indeed, it is a sci-fi adventure cartoon and for what it is, it is truly awesome!! Graphics are great, music is great, sound is great, the plot for what it was intended to be is great!

Now, speaking of the plot, this is not a serious sci-fi cartoon. This is intended to be a funny movie, to make you relax and just have some fun, that's why I am still saying "for what it is". I have no idea of the game plot, so I am judging the movie only here. And honestly I really had some fun watching it.

Also, despite the warnings of cartoon violence and so on, I personally find it absolutely kids-friendly - no real scary moments, no sudden scary sounds, no real scary characters, in fact I intend to grab the blu-ray disk when it comes out and show it to my 3-year- old son, but if you doubt my judgement - go and give the movie a try, before bringing your kids there. Fun is guaranteed anyway.

I am not going to reveal much of the movie, except to mention that they intend to release a sequel, because there are two animation sequences in the end of the movie and the first one is clearly talking of a sequel.

The other thing to mention is they make reference to Sly Cooper, which movie is intended to be released a bit later this year and which I am awaiting so much, because there is one scene in the movie where they show picture of Sly Cooper (they show more pictures too, but I just did not paid attention to the others).

So to finish - for what it is, it's awesome! For me, as a parent, it's totally kids-friendly. It is also family-geared, because the duration is set to 1h 34mins if I remember correctly, which is the usual family format. It is fun and it is really making you relax and enjoy your time, so just give it a try.

As I said, I've never played any of the Ratchet & Clank games, but now think I am definitely going to give them a try.

Enjoy!

Ratchet and Clank fmovies. At first I was sceptical about watching this film as I read the critic reviews from other sites but decided to go to watch it. After watching this film I'm so glad I did. This film is truly a film for the fans but is also a great film for everyone. Even if you have never played the video games, this film will still be easy to watch. Don't listen to the stupid critic reviewers who don't know how to have fun as this film is certainly fun. Even though there were many jokes, the only main bad side to this film was that it was lacking the innuendos which made it so famous in its original trilogy. Apart from that though, well written film.

*TLDR summary* This is a solid, fun and entertaining Video Game adaptation, do yourself a favour, don't listen to the totally overly harsh and unfair critics and go see it for yourself, you won't be disappointed ! As the audience score proves.

_________________________________

Well I have just come out from the film. In general, it was AWESOME, but I CAN see why it may have got some bad reviews. (No spoilers below) I do think some things could have been better, I personally felt the start was a bit rushed (but then again what do you expect trying to fit a 15 hour game into a 90 minute movie !), and if I hadn't played the games first or knew the series like I do then I may have got a little lost. I felt the chemistry between Ratchet and Clank was a pretty low-key until towards the end, but again technically they had only just met so you couldn't expect them to have the bond they have got by the later games in the series.

For fans the film is a total dream full of references and little Easter eggs. The first end credit scene made the film for me personally, so make sure you stay a while once the movie's over ! Sadly I didn't see as many planets as I'd hoped for which I was sad about, and the weapons didn't make much of an appearance until toward the end either.

I personally felt the second half was superior to the first, but I'm not sure if that was because unfortunately by watching all the previously released clips beforehand, I had kinda ruined it for myself and seen all the main parts, which is my fault entirely.

Anyway final verdict, it was great and guaranteed that if you're a fan (OR a newcomer) then you will love it, I thoroughly enjoyed it, had plenty of laughs and would definitely see it again. The humour was good, the references were great and the characters were awesome as per usual, as was the stellar voice acting by the series usual stars. We saw much more out of Cora and Elaris than in the newest game too and they're really decent characters. However there IS room for improvement and I can see how some people may not enjoy it as much as others.

I feel critics have been completely unfair and overly harsh on this film, in terms of video game adaptations it's fantastic. They talk about it as if they were expecting something from Pixar, bearing in min Rainmaker had about a quarter of the budget for this movie than studios such as Pixar and Dreamworks have, They did a bloody great job and still produced a fantastic fun, colourful film and that's saying something. Do yourself a massive favour and go see for yourself and don't listen to them.

Ratchet & Clank is a really superb adaptation of the games, and a good movie to boot. It has a solid, albeit less than original message: You don't have to be big or impressive to be good, you just have to do what's right and have heart. This is, as Ratchet says, actually pretty good. It encourages humility and just being a decent person, and the movie highlighted giving more intellectual, less physical people respect and praise. It has characters that feel very genuine. Ratchet is a geek, through and through, and they embrace that without making it cringey. The movie has vibrant action with plenty of the awesome, zany weapons the series is known for. It has clever, self-aware humor that appeals both to long-time fans via inside jokes and easter eggs as well as movie-goers in general via quality wit and homages. This was a properly quality movie, and as both a fan of Ratchet & Clank and a fan of animated films, I was very pleased.