The Garfield Movie (English) Review {3.0/5} & Review Rating
Star Cast: Chris Pratt, Samuel L Jackson, Ving Rhames, Hannah Waddingham, Cecily Strong
Director: Mark Dindal
The Garfield Movie Synopsis:
THE GARFIELD MOVIE is the story of an indoor cat’s crazy adventure. When Garfield (Chris Pratt) was a kitten, he was left abandoned by his father on the streets. He meets a kind-hearted lonely man, Jon (Nicholas Hoult), and they both instantly form a bond. Jon adopts Garfield (as per Garfield, it's the other way around). Jon also adopts a dog Odie (Harvey Guillén). 5 years pass. Life is going great for Garfield and he's lazing around and eating junk food to his heart's content. One day, two scary-looking animals, Roland (Brett Goldstein) and Nolan (Bowen Yang), kidnap Garfield and Odie. They turn out to be the henchmen of Jinx (Hannah Waddingham), a villainous cat. At Jinx's hideout, Garfield also meets Vic (Samuel L Jackson), Garfield's father. Before Garfield can process the information, Jinx tells the former, Vic and Odie to steal more than 1000 quarts of milk from her from a place called Lactose Farm. She does so to settle past dues with Vic. She also asks Roland and Nolan to keep a close watch on the trio, in case they run away. Garfield is unhappy with his father for abandoning him when he was a kitten. Now, he has no choice but to stick with Vic for the 'mission'. On top of it, he has been an indoor cat all his life and doesn't know typical cat stuff to survive in the open. What happens next forms the rest of the film.
The Garfield Movie Story Review:
The story has all the trappings of an entertainer. Paul A Kaplan, Mark Torgove and David Reynolds' screenplay is fast-paced and packs in a lot in 101 minutes. The dialogues are hilarious and add to the fun.
Mark Dindal's direction is impressive. This is a present-day animation film as modern technologies form an important part of the storyline like food apps, delivery through drones etc. At one point, 'Shark Tank' is mentioned, and it raises laughs. The tribute to Tom Cruise's MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE and TOP GUN will be loved. The father-son bond is the best part of the enterprise. Most importantly, there's too much cuteness and adventure for the whole family.
On the flipside, the villain track is very weak. The antagonist is supposed to be scary but that doesn't happen even for a second. Secondly, the idea of using acorns as a walkie-talkie is amusing but it's too illogical. The makers could have come up with something better than passing off something like this in the final product. Lastly, the buzz for the film is limited in India.
The Garfield Movie Performances:
The voiceover by Chris Pratt stands out for sure. He brings out the right attitude required for a character like Garfield. Samuel L Jackson comes next, and he rocks the show. Ving Rhames (Otto) is entertaining. Hannah Waddingham does well but is let down by the character. Cecily Strong (Marge Melone) does better in being a scary character. However, she has limited screen time. Nicholas Hoult, Nicholas Hoult and Bowen Yang lend able support.
The Garfield Movie music and other technical aspects:
John Debney's music and background score go with the mood of the film. Pete Oswald's production design is imaginative. The animation matches global standards. Mark Keefer's editing is smooth.
The Garfield Movie Conclusion:
On the whole, THE GARFIELD MOVIE is a complete entertainer for the whole family. At the box office, the film might be initially affected by limited buzz but can pick up in the long run.
