Ice Age: Collision Course

If Ice Age: Collision Course proves anything, it's that the series should start heading to straight to DVD fairly soon if this is the best they come up with.  Here is a plain-as-vanilla animated feature that has been watered down to the point that not even the talented voice cast can generate much enthusiasm.  It doesn't help that there's virtually no plot, and that after five movies, these characters just don't hold the appeal that they did when this franchise started way back in 2002.

The plot, as if it matters, kicks off when sabre-tooth squirrel, Scrat, finds himself on board a spaceship that he uncovers during one of his acorn hunts that traditionally open these movies.  Due to his Wile E. Coyote-inspired antics in space, an asteroid comes hurtling toward Earth, ready to destroy all mammal life.  This comes right at the time when our heroes, including woolly mammoth Manny (voice by Ray Romano), sabre-tooth tiger Diego (Dennis Leary) and Sid the Sloth (John Leguizamo), are busy getting ready for the wedding of Manny's daughter, Peaches (Keke Palmer).  She's setting up to marry a goofy mammoth named Julian (Adam Devine), as well as leave the herd so that she can create her own life, which does not sit well with Manny or his wife, Ellie (Queen Latifah).  Led by the thrill seeking weasel, Buck (Simon Pegg), the animals must find a way to stop the asteroid.  Good thing for them they seem to have all the time in the world, so they can frequently stop for forgettable comic gags, or maybe play a hockey game or two.  Oh, and there are some ominous prehistoric dino birds following them in the sky.  But nothing really adds up to much.

Here is a movie that gives us nothing to care about.  It's a total cash grab on the part of Blue Sky Animation Studios, which is especially sad when their last film was the excellent and warmhearted The Peanuts Movie.   The difference between their last film and this is like night and day.  Peanuts felt like a labor of love created with genuine interest.  This feels like a con job designed to rob bored kids and their parents, who will be bored while sitting through this. There is no source of soul, wit or the sense that anyone involved actually wanted to make it.  The movie isn't even all that interesting in a visual sense, save for one scene concerning an electrical storm.  As for the dialogue, it's really nothing more than a string of pop culture gags, and unless you really have a desire for prehistoric animals talking about hashtags and profile pictures, you're not going to find much here.

How much does this movie not care?  It can't even be bothered to finish the subplots it sets up.  Early on, Ellie is angry at Manny for the fact that he forgot their anniversary.  Never brought up much if at all after a short fight.  Diego and his mate, Shira (Jennifer Lopez) want to have kids.  Again, nothing is really settled.  The movie just keeps on trotting out ideas and characters from past movies, and then forgets about them almost as soon as they're introduced.  It gets to the point where it feels like Collision Course is as bored with itself as I was.  I kept on searching for maybe a small source of inspiration, or maybe something that showed the filmmakers weren't completely on autopilot here.  But, aside from some amusing facial expressions from Scrat during his adventures, I found nothing.

With Finding Dory and The Secret Life of Pets in theaters, there's no need for this.  The Ice Age movies have always felt a little behind the times.  In the current animated market, this particular entry feels downright archaic. 

See the movie times in your area or buy the DVD at Amazon.com!

0 comments