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How entertaining? ★★☆☆☆
Thought provoking? ★☆☆☆☆ 19 November 2012
This article is a review of WRECK-IT RALPH. |
“Doomsday and armageddon just had a baby, and it’s ugly,” Sergeant Calhoun
What a title! What a teaser trailer! Hopes were high. Might WRECK-IT RALPH be the first fiction feature since TRON to use computer gaming tropes to be exciting? And not only that, could it be the first to take existing properties in the console universe and turn them into quality cinematic fodder? Could it? Could it? The answer is no. Anyone interested in gaming or decent cinematic storytelling will be disappointed by a criminally wasted opportunity. Though, those less than double digits in age will get a definite kick out of the whizz bang hyperactivity. One level of humour involves a character getting repeatedly hit in the face
Pre-title reveal, we get a brief 30-year history of the game Wreck-It Ralph resides within, Fix-It Felix Jr. He’s the Donkey Kong baddie that real-world gamers have to combat, by playing the titular Felix, in order to get a medal. While taking pride in his work, after three decades, Ralph has grown weary of not being the hero. He wants recognition and appreciation, sharing his frustrations in an inspired support group for video game villains.
What a title! What a teaser trailer! Hopes were high. Might WRECK-IT RALPH be the first fiction feature since TRON to use computer gaming tropes to be exciting? And not only that, could it be the first to take existing properties in the console universe and turn them into quality cinematic fodder? Could it? Could it? The answer is no. Anyone interested in gaming or decent cinematic storytelling will be disappointed by a criminally wasted opportunity. Though, those less than double digits in age will get a definite kick out of the whizz bang hyperactivity. One level of humour involves a character getting repeatedly hit in the face
Pre-title reveal, we get a brief 30-year history of the game Wreck-It Ralph resides within, Fix-It Felix Jr. He’s the Donkey Kong baddie that real-world gamers have to combat, by playing the titular Felix, in order to get a medal. While taking pride in his work, after three decades, Ralph has grown weary of not being the hero. He wants recognition and appreciation, sharing his frustrations in an inspired support group for video game villains.
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The opening suggests a TOY STORY-style epic secret world. When the arcade emporium closes to the public, the characters down tools for some rest and recuperation. At Game Central Station, the mega terminal linking all the machines, the ability to pause would be handy – to see the plethora of in-jokes and beloved icons from the history of the pastime. Sitting in the cinema, I’m getting excited: Look at all the worlds for Ralph to interact in! We get a warning from Sonic the Hedgehog about dying outside of your game, it will be permanent, no regeneration. Another jolt of fear for the characters comes from a destitute Q-Bert; he and his colleagues had their arcade machine switched off. So far, so wow. However, post-intro, the movie nose-dives in quality.
In the world of Fix-It Felix Jr., Ralph is ostracised by fellow Nicelander inhabitants. It’s not explained why. It seems that the characters are actually acting out parts in the games, and after hours Ralph is a soft-hearted and sensitive soul. While forced to live in a dump, he’s no Shrek misanthrope. At 643 pounds and nine feet tall, he’s probably the most powerful in that entire arcade emporium universe. And admits to wearing his passion close to the surface, i.e. he has a temper. However, there appears no reason as to why he is not at least permitted to socialise with the other citizens. Plus living on rubble, Ralph mate, build a resilient enough abode to reside. That is one of the fatal flaws of WRECK-IT, the lack of logic, as well as lazy storytelling.
After a convoluted and trite narrative set-up, the Nicelanders flippantly say that if he wins a hero’s medal, he’ll be allowed to have a penthouse in their community; a catalyst then for Ralph hunting outside Fix-It Felix Jr. for one. Briefly spending time at a lamely realised GEARS OF WAR/CALL OF DUTY/BATTLEFIELD-style first-person shooter, he ends up for the rest of the movie in Sugar Rush. Instead of jumping from arcade to arcade we get stuck in this tired, sentimental Willy Wonka world. WTF! Why of all the imaginariums this one? We’ve been privy to the Roald Dahl vision, done supremely better in CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY. Shouldn’t the filmmakers have been far more creative? Or preferably gone into the worlds of the characters selected to be in the film – Mario, Sonic, Ryu, etc. WRECK-IT RALPH never gets passed level one.
Like MEGA MIND, the exploration of being bad/good is not even analysed on a literal plane, let alone an allegorical one. Nor is there dialectic on whether games are an art form. You’re probably thinking: Hello! It’s only a cartoon. But chums, look no further for narrative layers:
- WALL.E
- SPIRITED AWAY
- MY NEIGHBOUR TOTORO
- TOY STORY 3
The stunningly romantic PAPERMAN short film that accompanies WRECK-IT will be a sorbet of sophistication that cleanses the palate before eating junk food.
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