Pletty good, Glasshopper

Rating: 8/10 (9 July 2008)

Let's get one thing straight. I have always regarded Jack Black as a tolerable supporting player who, for some reason I can't quite fathom (although it seems to have something to do with some people finding him quite a bit funnier than I do), has achieved leading man status. That overall opinion hasn't changed, but that doesn't stop me recognising his voice work here as very, very good. The same goes for Dustin Hoffman, with a special mention for James Hong. The other voice artists are also good, but the parts they play don't really demand the names which play them - Jackie Chan has, what? five lines? Something like that.
This film looks gorgeous. The backgrounds are simply breathtaking, the characters are well realised, and the effects are excellent. There are lots of gags, most of them quite funny, and lots of action too.
I have two criticisms. One is that much of the action was too fast for me to follow. The other is that the movie seemed a bit - well, inconsequential. Maybe I'm getting used to the better scripted CGI animated movies regaling me with various universal truths, but I didn't detect much of that here. Just a relatively engaging story, well told.
And that's perfectly fine, of course.