Pluto Nash - Im Kampf gegen die Mondmafia

This is a movie full of cliché and predictable twists. But it's still Eddie Murphy being funny and filled with cute little moments.

I'm not sure why this film attracts so much hate, it doesn't bother doing anything so terrible that it deserves the vitriol level of criticism that seems to be thrown at it.

It's at worst a movie that's easy to classify as "average", but personally I actually really enjoy this film. It's a non offensive, straight forward sci-fi comedy that doesn't require any deeper understanding or intellectual delving.

There's no deeper meaning here than some funny people having an adventure on a future moon city. You could do a lot worse with your time than to sit back, turn off your brain for an hour and just enjoy the show.

Honestly this is one of my go to movies for multitasking, something funny on in the background that doesn't require my 100% attention to still make me laugh while I'm doing other things. And it ends up getting watched more often than some of the "better" movies that I would rate at 10 simply because those are often a chore to watch and require actually thinking to understand them.

Yes if you understood that correctly: I do enjoy a deeper movie and would rate them higher, but it's also not what I would typically grab from day to day when I just want to laugh while getting through the grind: The Adventures of Pluto Nash "is".

There's maybe one laugh (if you're lucky) in this universally-panned disaster, but that doesn't mean THE ADVENTURES OF PLUTO NASH is a complete loss. Eddie Murphy is the title character, a reformed felon operating the most successful club in the "Little America" part of the Moon. But after he turns down an offer to sell to a shyster for $10 million, the laser bullets begin flying in his direction. Now he and gal pal Rosario Dawson, along with robot bodyguard Randy Quaid, are on the run.

Murphy is generally appealing, but his comic touch just doesn't jive with the sci-fi environment. The plot is at times incoherent and suffers from trying to roll comedy, action and excitement all into one. It's kind of amazing this clunker ever made it beyond the idea phase, particularly with talents such as Murphy and director Ron Underwood (CITY SLICKERS) involved.

What does PLUTO NASH have going for it? Though it's supposed to be a comedy, it actually works to some degree as a sci-fi adventure. The massive $100 million budget and futuristic setting make for some interesting visuals. And the picture moves along at a fair pace, with a tidy running time of 95 minutes.

For all its flaws, I would not use the term "boring" to describe PLUTO NASH. Hollywood has done much better, but it's also done far worse.

I happen to think that this movie is entertaining. Sure the jokes are juvenile, but if Austin Powers can do $millions of business with recycled jokes and bathroom humor, I can't see why Eddie Murphy, who's in great form here, can't score with this one (millions, after all, went and see the awful Nutty Professor II). I heard a lot of bad reviews, but I was pleasantly surprised that I totally enjoyed the movie.

It's basically a gangster comedy wrapped in a Sci-fi treatment. There are some genuinely eye-catching set pieces and amusing exchanges. The visuals are great. And Rosario Dawson and Eddie Murphy have genuine chemistry -- much more convincing than that between her and Will Smith in MIB2. Randy Quaid steals the show as the robot bodyguard though. After the disappointing MIB2 and Gold Member, Nash is quite a refreshing change of pace.

As everybody and their dog seemed to be absolutely certain that The Adventures of Pluto Nash is a steaming pile of excrement, I would have never come to watch it if the DVD hadn't been forgotten on my table by a visiting friend. The next day I had conveniently a couple of hours to kill at home, so I thought I might as well check whether Pluto Nash was just bad or a real turkey.

Much to my surprise I sat through the entire movie mildly entertained. Certainly anyone expecting a movie where Eddie Murphy makes faces, laughs like a horse and tells immature vulgar jokes is indeed in for a sore disappointment, as this film gracefully lacks all those clichés. In fact all kind of humour is scarce, jokes are few and far between and -- frankly -- vacuous at best. However, The Adventures of Pluto Nash is not half-bad as a sci-fi adventure. Effects are quite nice, and although the script does not blow one's mind with innovativeness, it keeps the story flowing fluently with no dead moments. 7/10.

My husband and I never heard the bad reviews before watching Pluto Nash...and it has become one of our favorites! Certainly not Eddie Murphy's best film, but no less enjoyable in my book!