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G-Force fails to unleash power of its players

AP Photo/Disney

In this film publicity image released by Disney, characters, from left, Darwin, Juarez and Blaster are shown in a scene from, " G- Force."

G-Force
star (out of four)

• Stars: Sam Rockwell, Tracy Morgan, Penelope Cruz, Nicolas Cage, Will Arnett, Bill Nighy, Zach Galifianakis.

• Director: Hoyt Yeatman

• Rating: PG

• Running time: 89 minutes

• Showing: Grand 18, Wynnsong 12, Carmike 10, Kernersville Countryside, Starmount, Liberty Twin, Creekside, Carousel Luxury.

• Reviewer's opinion: The Alvin and the Chipmunks of 2009. Stay away.

• More Movie Reviews
• Local movie listings and showtimes

-- Jake Coyle

The Associated Press

Published: July 30, 2009

G-Force has been billed as producer Jerry Bruckheimer's first foray into animation, which suggests that his live-action films contain something resembling "reality" and "humans."

Shrinking Bruckheimer's usual visual-effects mayhem down to rodent size, G-Force is centered on a elite squad of guinea pigs who resemble small(er) versions of Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible.

The guinea pigs are voiced by Sam Rockwell (Darwin), Tracy Morgan (Blaster) and Penelope Cruz (Juarez). Nicolas Cage, doing the finest voice-over work in the movie, plays Speckles, a computer specialist mole.

They are collectively, along with a voice-less, camera-wielding fly, under the tutelage of G-Force's creator, Ben. (Only the little critters are animated.) He's played by the usually unconventional comedian Zach Galifianakis, introduced to many earlier this summer in The Hangover.

Ben's pipsqueak task force is quickly shut down by FBI Agent Kip Killian, played by Will Arnett. The group nevertheless rallies to help uncover the duplicitous dealings of industrialist Leonard Saber (Bill Nighy), whose big plans for world domination include evil coffee makers -- a feat, of course, already accomplished by Starbucks.

But you don't come to see G-Force for the intrigue; you come for the talking guinea pigs.

If G-Force has a cousin, it isn't Ratatouille (not by a long shot), but Alvin and the Chipmunks, the 2007 film that also married live action with furry, animated cliches.

None in the G-Force come through much as characters. Juarez, we are told, is an attractive guinea pig; a propensity to flirt is her only characteristic. Darwin, the leader, remains a blank slate, but at least is animated in such a way to mimic how Rockwell speaks out of the side of a smirk. Blaster shouts tired urban slang such as "Holla!" and "Pimp my ride!"

Like a number of Hollywood's offerings this summer, G-Force is in 3-D. Depending on your perspective, that means either a more interesting viewing experience or simply a more expensive one.

G-Force is directed by Hoyt Yeatman, a longtime visual-effects maestro on Bruckheimer's films, including Armageddon and Con Air. The 3-D effects are occasionally impressive, as when the fly buzzes over your shoulder. But an opportunity was missed to exploit the 3-D technology from the perspective of hamster-sized spies. And when will effects wizards realize the most important feature of an animated creature isn't the pixels of its fur, but the liveliness of its eyes?

The movie credits Yeatman with the film's story and five writers with the screenplay. The group effort, though, wasn't enough to prevent a climax that will have moviegoers wondering if they accidentally wandered into the theater for the latest Transformers film.

Most depressing about G-Force is the talent wasted in the name of family entertainment. Galifianakis, Morgan and Arnett are all funnier falling out of bed. Galifianakis, at least, manages to slide in one smart quip: His reconnaissance mosquito rescued, he rejoices: "I don't like it when my fly is down."

But G-Force ultimately reveals itself as no more than a pest. In one scene, the fly zooms up Nighy's nose, which is something like the sensation of watching this talking guinea pig movie in 3-D.