Whenever a new 'Ice Age' movie comes out, I always do, as if automatically, grunt. I didn't have the chance to understand what is there with the franchise to even last for four movies. When I think about 'Ice Age 4' and I am always aware that its the fourthmovie, there is no single word that comes in mind but “why”. I know that Shrek has a fate that is of resemblance with that of Ice Age's having the first two movies wittily and the rest is the way I say it, dumbstry. The first two 'Ice Age' films were passable enough to keep the money well spent, obviously Shrek is far better than this franchise, but the next movies including this is just pure shoehorned ideas. Like an unwanted blemish in a supermodel's face.
While inches better with the third movie, with its better slapstick timing and groundbreaking action sequences, the fourth movie still struggles to find a way out of boresome story that keeps audience in a position wherein we want to just drift away like the continents did many many years ago.
Manny the Mammoth (Ray Romano) and his daughter Peaches (Nickelodeon star Keke Palmer) both fret at each other. The father, because his daughter knows nothing about following words by her parents; and the daughter, because her father knows too little to understand her “teen phase” [enter crushing on a complete douchery and trying to make an impression. Oh, and doing whatever it may take to do this mission]. In a stingy confrontation, Manny and Peaches literally drifts away from each other just moments after Scrat, a species I'm yet to distinguish, makes the land crack and “sail” away from each other. This event leaves Manny and Peaches apart.
On the daughter's side was the remaining fauna of their gang. Lead by her mother Ellie (Queen Latifah, 'Hairspray') and her, the group of different faunas tries to walk their way to a distant land-bridge while a moving stone wall pushes inward so that it reaches the cliff and beyond that. Miles away from their “home” is Manny, Diego the Sabertooth (Denis Leary), Sid the Sloth (John Leduizamo) and Sid's litterally unpleasant grandmother, Granny (Wanda Sykes) is pushed by the current to the middle of the arctic ocean only to find themselves in a journey-long war with a group of animal pirates lead by a gigantic fiendish ape, Captain Gut (Peter Dinklage) and his right hand tigress, Shira (Jennifer Lopez).
What your ticket represents is an hour and a half of “sometimes working sometimes defective” overused slapstick comedy. There'd been some witty punchlines and wordplay here and there but the population of some “strictly for kids only” jokes are simply impossible to top. Wykes for a toothless sloth whose side profession seem to be nagging her grandson and his friends, has a non-dismissively downright hilarious voice. She's one of the reasons that my eyes went UFC fighter from being closed [the movie's a little sleepy I can tell you honestly], she's one of the funniest characters in the film. If there are “the Penguins” in 'Madagascar', there is Scrat in 'Ice Age', enough said. Diego is the most likable character and Sid is the amusingly dumb one. Manny is the strong and heroic father figure.
The action scenes were exhilarating and enthralling, perhaps Steve Marino [director, this time collabed with Michael Thurmeier] still has some skill to play after his 'Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!'. The graphics were superior to those of the three predecessors' that's no doubt; balancing the classic cartoonish animation and stunning CGIs. While the vocal power is above passable, it still left me sleepy through the movie. Take a minute and read back all the positive remarks I've pointed out in this movie...these are the things noteable. The rest is either lacking, or pure awful.
Technically serviceable, the movie had smorgasbord of sufferings that movies commonly suffer too. C.
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