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As an avid video game fan, it has long distressed me that movie adaptions of the medium are almost universally rubbish. In fact, it’s an ongoing in-joke within the gaming community that any movie based on a game or vice-versa will be doomed to fail.
You can imagine, then, that taking Angry Birds, the hugely popular mobile game which sees the player fling flightless, multi-coloured birds at pigs hiding in fortresses to retrieve stolen eggs, doesn’t seem ripe with potential. It might be addictive and contain fun puzzles, but it doesn’t have much in the way of story or mythos to go on.
However, this works to the movie’s advantage as, aside from the characters’ physical appearance, the directors and writers pretty much have carte blanche to do whatever they want. And, although it won’t reverse two decades of popular opinion on its own, this is a decent, offbeat comedy that is far from the disaster it could (and probably should) have been.
The plot is unsurprisingly simple, and can essentially be summed up as a tale of why the birds got so angry in the first place.
The setting is a tropical island populated entirely by happy bird-creatures. Happy except for one that is; the short-tempered hero, Red (Sudeikis). He has been sentenced to anger management, where he meets the yellow, super-speedy Chuck (Gad) and a volatile, explosive black bird called Bomb (Danny McBride).
Game players may recognise these characters and their powers from their smartphones, and it’s cool to see how their look matches their personality.
The baddies come in the form of a boatload of green pigs who come ashore and set about their nefarious plans. Of course, it’s up to Red and his buddies to discover what these plotting porkers are up to, which involves tracking down the Mighty Eagle (Dinklage, who seems to be in everything these days) for guidance.
It sounds fun, but it is a little sluggish. Despite the short running time, it feels longer as the first two-thirds takes so long to get going. Although there are some amusing sequences like the birds’ first anger management class, and some hilarious dialogue when Chuck and Bomb start drinking and bathing out of Mighty Eagle’s ‘Lake of Wisdom’ only to find out it is his personal urinal, there are too many scenes which are padded out far longer than they should be.
However, when the pigs finally steal the eggs from our furry friends, it kick-starts the final act which is absolutely brilliant. If I was reviewing the final third of the movie exclusively, I’d happily give it five stars as it’s that good.
It’s essentially a revved-up version of the mobile game. Here, the birds start hurling themselves at the pigs’ fortresses, causing them to collapse. Not only does the entire cast from the game get to strut their stuff and use their individual powers, but it’s done in such a way that’s both funny and visually exciting.
It’s a shame that the directors put almost all of their efforts into this at the expense of earlier setup and proper pacing, but it’s worth repeat viewings. The fact that it’s the one area they could draw true inspiration from the video game rather than have to craft their own story is telling.
Most of the movie’s humour does tend to side towards the younger children, as opposed to say a DreamWorks or Pixar movie which appeals as much to adults with a nod and a wink, but some of the jokes hit home.
Considering my expectations from the trailer and from 20 years of hurt, I was pleasantly surprised by this. It’s a light-hearted and entertaining journey featuring a solid voice cast and impressive visuals. It’s only let down by a few dud jokes and an inconsistent first hour which doesn’t live up to the stupendous slingshot-fuelled final crescendo.
* Showing in Novo Cinemas, Cineco, Seef II, Seef I, Saar, Al Jazira, Wadi Al Sail, Dana Cineplex
