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Out to own on DVD and Blu-ray 30th November
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Producer extraordinaire Jerry Bruckheimer working with 3D guinea pigs who are trying to save the world sounds like an elaborate fantasy sequence. Even Bruckheimer working in 3D sounds too good to be true. But when you’ve got the special effects talent behind the directing of Disney’s new family adventure from Bruckheimer’s right-hand effects man, Hoyt Yeatman, you expect a winner in the cutesy, cuddly animal genre with mind-blowing visuals. And you get it. G-Force is furry, frenetic family fun with scores of big laughs, big-chase action, and THE best 3D effects ever seen (so far) on the big screen that will quite literally blow you away.
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Working with a new type of 3D that ‘breaks the frame’ the sequences, including fireworks, explosions, flying rodents and a head-on attack by a snake are enough to lift the heaviest posterior off a cinema seat, with a resounding ‘Argh’! The 3D experience is one of the most comfortable and non-nauseating, in terms of the quality and effects on the eyes, and raises the bar firmly upwards for future productions to come. The other technical expertise evident is the pretty seamless blend between live action and 3D animation that this feature has to offer. There really is very little, obvious difference between live and animated, which makes for a smooth and enjoyable viewing.
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As for the plot, it’s a simple one catered for kids: A specially-trained squad of guinea pigs (plus mole, Speckles, voiced by Nicolas Cage) is dispatched to stop a diabolical billionaire (Bill Nighy as Leonard Saber) from taking over the world. As with all kiddies’ flicks, the stereotypes are a-plenty and predictable, but there is a lot of adult humour to be had in this film to keep the ‘bigger kids’ entertained throughout. Nighy always comes up trumps as a Brit baddie human, dressed in some nice treads this time around, instead of sporting tentacles, and emerging The Hangover star Zach Galifianakis surprises all by playing it straight and nerdy in this film as G-Force’s brainy and loveable inventor, Ben.
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However, the biggest laughs come from character Bucky, a seriously deranged, territorial Canadian hamster, voiced by Steve Buscemi, who has a long-standing problem with the pet-shop layabout, guinea pig Hurley, voiced by the ever-hilarious Jon Favreau. Even as an animated character, Buscemi manages to inject neurosis and bordering-on insanity, as he has done countless times before in other human roles, bringing Bucky fully to life. Cage is joined by Sam Rockwell, Tracy Morgan and Spanish sizzler Penélope Cruz to supply the all-star cast of voices for the other animal secret agents, but is cleverly, virtually unrecognisable as Speckles, the IT-expert mole. It is an exceptional voice talent that accompanies the impressive and eerily life-like mouth movements. To top off the wonderment for the viewer is the array of gadgetry and gizmos they get to handle, including the highly imaginative ‘headquarters’. And no Bruckheimer film would be complete without the thrilling car-chase sequence, only this one is one with a difference that involves high-tech, motorised guinea-pig exercise balls, as well as flying vehicles.
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The exciting ending looks like it’s straight out of Transformers, with the household appliances coming to life, but then feels rather rushed and ‘done, dusted and dealt with’ before the real menace has had a chance to wreck havoc, completed with the line: “I can’t believe the mole was a mole” (groan). Naturally, the guinea pigs triumph - time for planning that sequel, Jerry, and in true Disney style, invite the audience to clap along to the ‘G-Force in the house’ party and credits. But look out for some quite inventive little features, such as the cockroaches’ wings turning into a glittering mirror ball.
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The strength is in the detail in this predicted summer hit, which has been painstakingly created for a full, visual 3D ‘piece de resistance’ - without skipping on adventure and entertainment value, and along with the brilliant voice talent, G-Force and its furry friends go to prove that: “Little is [indeed] the new big”!
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By Lisa Keddie
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Synopsis
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Producer Jerry Bruckheimer brings his first 3-D film to the big screen with G-Force, a comedy-adventure about the latest evolution of a covert government program to train animals to work in espionage. Armed with the latest high-tech spy equipment, these highly trained guinea pigs discover that the fate of the world is in their paws. Tapped for the G-Force are guinea pigs Darwin (voice of Rockwell), the squad leader determined to succeed at all costs; Blaster (voice of Morgan), an outrageous weapons expert with tons of attitude and a love for all things extreme; and Juarez (voice of Cruz), a sexy martial-arts pro; plus the literal fly-on-the-wall reconnaissance expert Mooch and a star-nosed mole Speckles (voice of Cage), the computer and information specialist.
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Directed by two-time Oscar-winning visual effects master Hoyt Yeatman, G-Force takes audiences on a high-octane thrill ride, proving once and for all that size really doesn’t matter.
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Film Facts
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Official site: http://www.disneymovies.co.uk/gforce/
UK Release Date: 31st July 2009
Director: Hoyt Yeatman
Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer
Writers: Hoyt Yeatman, David P I James, Marianne Sellek Wibberley, Cormac Wibberley
Cast: Bill Nighy (’Leonard Saber’), Will Arnett (’Kip Killian’), Zach Galifianakis (’Ben’), Nicolas Cage (’Speckles’ (voiced)), Sam Rockwell (’Darwin’ (voiced)), Tracy Morgan (’Balster’ (voiced)), Penélope Cruz (’Juarez’ (voiced)), Jon Favreau (’Hurley’ (voiced)), Steve Buscemi (’Bucky’ (voiced)), Kelli Garner (’Marcie’), Tyler Patrick Jones (’Connor’), Piper Harris (’Penny’), Gabriel Casseus (’Agent Trigstad’), Jack Conley (’Agent Carter’), Niecy Nash (’Rosalita’), Justin Mentell (’Terrell’)
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures UK
Certificate: PG
Run-time: 90 mins
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Video on Real.com
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Trailer:
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REAL EXCLUSIVE: Nicolas Cage Interview in NYC:
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REAL EXCLUSIVE: Bill Nighy Interview in NYC:
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REAL EXCLUSIVE: ‘Blaster’ (voiced by Tracey Morgan) Interview in NYC:
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REAL EXCLUSIVE: Jerry Bruckheimer Interview in NYC:
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REAL EXCLUSIVE: Hoyt Yeatman Interview in NYC:
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EXCLUSIVE Feature with Sam Rockwell and Jon Favreau in the studio:
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