Time to put a freeze on Ice Age
What could possibly go wrong with the winning formula of a tiger, mammoth, sloth and obsessive squirrel? Answer: a fourth movie.
The Ice Age franchise is back for the fourth time with Ice Age: Continental Drift, once again reuniting Sid the sloth, Manny the mammoth and Diego the sabre-toothed cat. The land where the animals live is falling apart. Manny - joined by Diego, Sid and Sid's granny - is stuck at sea, floating on a shipwreck-sized piece of ice, separated from his wife and daughter. His main goal is to sail back to the mainland and find his family.
But trouble strikes when the foursome sail into a gang of pirates led by a monkey. It's the first of many obstacles Manny must overcome before he can rejoin his family.
When the first Ice Age came out, it was hot because its theme was unique and graphics remarkable. The problem with this episode is that it looks exactly the same as its predecessors - the ice-age background, the expedition and (I'm risking my editor's wrath saying this) the pitiful nut-chasing squirrel.
Some say the movies are for very young kids and rely on the familiar story of three animal pals overcoming trials on a journey. The plot can be excused, but the producers' lack of motivation in pursuing better quality graphics and visual effects is unacceptable.
This is the second 3D Ice Age movie, but it really doesn't feel like the filmmakers did anything more impressive than last time.
