Cro Man

Although it isn't Aardman at the top of their game, 'Early Man' is still a fantastically entertaining film with excellent stop-motion animation and a satisfyingly energetic cast. Their newest film from Oscar winning director Nick Park tells the story of a prehistoric tribe that have to work together in order to save their home from the impending doom of the Bronze Age. Aardman once again uses expert sight gags and word play to generate multiple laughs from the audience and, although the jokes don't always land, they are all genuinely clever and you can't help but appreciate the thought that has gone into them all. The film is however let down slightly by its somewhat generic and predictable story, but the fast pace and constant humour doesn't make this into a huge problem.

Overall 'Early Man' is a very well crafted, extremely entertaining family film that will appeal to all ages, which includes an excellent voice cast who are clearly having just as much fun as we are. 7/10.

Not one of Aardman's best, but watchable and has some funny jokes. It starts out really promising, but by the end is hugely predictable and simply turns into a by the numbers "underdog wins the day" type sports comedy (albeit with Claymation). Previous ones of their films have remained fresh until the end, but this starts to drag a bit once it becomes obvious how the plot's going to play out

Aardman Animations have been part of my life. I will forever remember the moment Wallace wore the wrong trousers or Mrs Tweedy obnoxiously making chicken pies. Their animations are quintessentially British, and I'm somewhat patriotic about that. So it comes with no pleasure that I have to say I really didn't enjoy this. A small tribe of cavemen have been brutally kicked out of their valley. The rise of The Bronze Age creates a pivotal and existential question: who is better at football? Of course, you have your memorable characters that range from a bronze obsessed Lord to a sheepish hog...and there we have our film. Consistently, their animation style knocks it out of the park...Nick Park...*cough* everytime! Stop motion is a skill, an incredible talent and it's great to see fully fledged motion pictures are still being produced. The British voice cast were stupendously well suited, particularly Redmayne and Hiddleston who clearly had fun. Occasionally the witty script, filled with both football satire and ancient puns, did bring a smile on my face. It's just...not enough, I'm sorry to say. Look, Nick Park and the gang are endlessly inventive and provide great family entertainment value. Children will love this no doubt. It just wasn't for me. The plot was ridiculously predictable to a point where I could estimate accurately how the story would unfold. Guess what? I was right. The over reliance of crude slapstick humour (farts, annoying sounds etc.) was far too excessive and seemed dated. It's as if the studio haven't evolved whereas rivals Pixar, Laika and even Dreamworks are way ahead of the game. The story's execution felt primitive. I felt nothing towards the characters, wasn't moved by the plot and the clear moral of the story was forced down my throat. Teamwork...if you didn't get it. I just don't think football was the way to go. A real unfortunate misfire, I hope the studio bring it back with their next motion picture.

I love to no end anything that Aardman has put out, including the traditional cartoons, and this one is no ecception: as usual, the stop-motion animation is flawless. Too bad that the screenplay seems rushed and underdeveloped, and the jokes did not always work. My kids (male of 8, female of 6) laughed a lot at the football match itself, but as an adult I felt that everything was dull and predictable.

I might be one of the few people on this planet that saw this over Black Panther. Sorry.

I really enjoy Aardman's work, especially from shows like "Shaun the Sheep" and "Wallace & Gromit". Their claymation is unique, the slapstick is inventive, the British wit is keen, the characters are endearing and the stories are funny. Only a few of these qualities could describe Early Man, a movie that's pleasant and wacky enough but felt rather uninspired. Which pains me, because I know Aardman could do better.

What are the positives? First off, the claymation has the same offbeat charm as almost every Aardman film ever, so expect that. A few jokes are inventive and got some giggles outta me (like the replay footage in a soccer game is a literal puppet show. Whenever the caveman team wins, the puppeteers wildly exaggerate what happened). Some of the details of how the cavemen live their lives was amusing. The pig was adorable and the end picks up its pace with an entertaining soccer game. Nick Park has a knack for world-building, and this was no different.

But I think that's where the main positives end. What shocked me the most was how formulaic the story was, since you could predict what EVERY SINGLE PLOT POINT was if you've seen enough animated movies. Some of the gags are clever and quirky, but a good chunk of them are also lazy and tired. It seems to rely on dumb puns ("looks like the caveman caved!") and overused physical humor over genuinely witty jokes. The "look at that caveman! He's so dumb!" running gag got old after the first 15 minutes and any chances for good absurdist humor (giant man-eating duck) lost its steam along the way. The CGI backgrounds look tacky and dull compared to the claymation, so it doesn't fit. The characters are likeable but also stereotypical (hero wants to save land, villain loves money, love interest is good at soccer, chief leader is cautious, sidekicks are dumb yet useful), just like the majority of this movie.

But it's not a painful watch. It's sometimes funny and amusing, but with every good moment you still have a thin premise, predictable plot and cliches to move the story forward as an amiable but weak experience. It's the type of movie you could show your kids on a Sunday afternoon or on an airplane, but the eccentricity, wit and creativity just isn't enough to make it worth seeing by yourself in a theater. You might smile, but it won't stick to your mind. It's not painfully average, but it isn't Wallace and Gromit. 5.5/10

I love that Shaun the Sheep 2 teaser though!