In April 2016, Ratchet & Clank was
brought into the next-gen era with the reimagining of the first game on the PS4
to outstandingly amazing results. It is not just one the best games to have
been released on the PS4, but it’s also currently one of their strongest titles
as it offers full AAA experience like no other. Everything about it, to its
high-quality production values, incredible graphics, beautiful cinematics,
top-notch voice acting, creative gameplay, superb level design and so on,
succeeds immensely with flying colours. If you are a long time fan of the
franchise, then this game is highly recommended. If not, then this will convert
you as it is worth your money. The movie, on the other hand, is, without a
shadow of doubt, one of the most pointless and forgettable movies that has ever
been made.
For starters, this has the exact same plot
as the game, but perhaps more criminally, this has the game’s exact same
cutscenes but with the addition of more footage. Unfortunately, the new footage
doesn’t add anything new to what was already a great story in the game, but
here, all of what the additions do is slow things down proceedings and makes
everything seem rather dull as a result. In the new footage, the jokes keep coming,
but end up landing poorly thanks to lazy and clichéd writing and atrocious
pacing. You’d think that this was made for fans of the Ratchet & Clank
franchise, but it fails to appease even its target audience as they will have
probably got a better experience out of playing the video game, which serviced
the story a lot better and offered them so much more thanks to its rich and
deep content. Captain Qwark’s storyline, for example, is better fleshed out and
has a much more satisfying resolution than what he gets in the movie. None of
that quality is here, and if this was to also appeal to youngsters, then they
might find some appeal in it or just be rather bored by it.
On the plus side, the voice acting is still
top-notch with returning voice actors James Arnold Taylor, David Kaye, Jim Ward
and Armin Shimerman still nailing their classic characters and reminding us why
they are so beloved. However, apart from Rosario Dawson and Paul Giamatti, the
new cast really don’t offer much with Sylvester Stallone being completely
wasted with what he’s given. The CGI is outstanding, and it is evident that
Rainmaker Entertainment spent a lot of time and effort to get the animation
right in every aspect, and that completely shows on screen. However, you still
get all of those positives in the video game, so that just makes the positives
seem like wasted potential in hindsight.
Perhaps what’s more disappointing is the
fact that there was a lot of potential the filmmakers could’ve touched upon by
having this excellent animation and superb voice cast, but still tried
something different with a brand new story and having the characters exploring
new worlds that includes new creatures. Instead, we got a lazy, run-of-the-mill
cash-in movie that was more likely created as a means of trying to hook older
fans. The Ratchet & Clank movie is absolutely not recommended, ignore this
like the plague, and just buy the video game as it’s definitely worth your
money and offers you a much better and more well-rounded experience than what’s
on display here with the film thanks to better humour, phenomenal gameplay and
a fleshed out story that perfectly serves the purpose of why these characters
are so beloved and iconic in video game history.
RATCHET AND CLANK / CERT: U / DIRECTOR: KEVIN MUNROE / SCREENPLAY: T.J FIXMAN, KEVIN MUNROE, GERRY SWALLOW / STARRING: PAUL GIAMATTI, JOHN GOODMAN, BELLA THORNE, ROSARIO DAWSON / RELEASE DATE: 29TH AUGUST
