SummarySet at the dawn of time, when prehistoric creatures roamed the earth, Early Man tells the story of courageous caveman Dug (Eddie Redmayne) and his best friend Hognob as they unite his tribe against a mighty enemy Lord Nooth (Tom Hiddleston) and his Bronze Age City to save their home.
SummarySet at the dawn of time, when prehistoric creatures roamed the earth, Early Man tells the story of courageous caveman Dug (Eddie Redmayne) and his best friend Hognob as they unite his tribe against a mighty enemy Lord Nooth (Tom Hiddleston) and his Bronze Age City to save their home.
The genius of Early Man is that it cannot possibly be spoiled. The animation is foolproof in its combination of ingenuity and obviousness, and the script obliterates the difference between a laugher and a groaner.
This movie is so charming and good natured. Why can't we make more movies like this? Really, there were no references to current popular culture or cheap gags or meanness. Just a fun and funny movie with a great message and all around quality ingredients. This and Paddington were the best so far this year. Both from outside the US. Why can't the US make a movie that is sweet and human instead of dumb and gimmicky?
I went to see “Early Man” today with a certain set of expectations. From a critical standpoint, I know I should go into any movie with a bit of a blank slate. Still, there will occasionally be one of those actors, directors, or producers of which I am a huge fan. I feel like there cannot possibly be a bad product. However, Robert De Niro has taught me that for every “The Godfather Part 2”, there is an equal and opposite “The Comedian” – same artist, noticeably different results. Having said that, I have not yet had that experience with Nick Park and Aardman Animations. The same folks that gave us “Wallace & Grommit”, “Chicken Run” and “Flushed Away” have once again had me either lightly giggling or chuckling uncontrollably in the movie theater. Aardman’s clay animation techniques have transitioned quiet well into the digital age (as “Shaun the Sheep” has shown). This is balanced by the fact that Park and Aardman clearly know their roots as I could see things clearly influenced by “The Flintstones” and “The 2000 Year Old Man”. Along with the great storyline and comic dialogue is a great cast which includes Maisie Williams (“Game of Thrones”), Eddie Redmayne (“Les Misérables”), Roy Ayoade (“The IT Crowd”), and Timothy Spall (pretty much every Aardman film). Like the Aardman works that came prior to “Early Man”, I can assure that this movie will quickly become part of my home video collection with me quoting dialogue repeatedly
It’s content to be what it is — a bit of silliness, really. It’s an excuse for goofy slapstick and wordplay. And it’s the rare light fare that can be light without feeling like chintzy gift shop pandering.
Park smoothly pilots this film around and through certain narrative conventions—training-montage clichés are parodied, familiar sports-movie characters are rejiggered—and there’s a pleasing familiarity to the whole endeavor. But there’s also a ceiling to how funny or touching any of this is.
A primitive concept (cavemen play football) generates unsophisticated laughs in an animated caper that’s fun but rather second division by Aardman standards.
There’s a mild chuckle every so often in Early Man...but overall the movie collapses in a heap of familiarity and lackadaisicalness. Park is an animation legend, but even the greats occasionally whiff it.
A fun & charming movie for both kids and adults, a very enjoyable movie especially for the football fans with heaps of the greatest form of comedic expression; puns.
If you've seen other Nick Park films then you'll know roughly what to expect - somewhat eccentric characters and a fairly quirky plot line delivered via stop motion animation, wich is very much family friendly viewing. This all applies to this film, so there's no change there. I didn't find it as amusing as the Wallace & Gromit films but then I suppose thats maybe a lot for this to live up to, not least as the characters are brand new (or really old, if you know what I mean - pardon the plot related pun).
Its an easy and enjoyable watch, with some pretty good examples of visual, slapstick comedy. I thought the voice acting was quite good but as I say it doesn't really compare to the studios previous works. I liked that the cave men were clearly portrayed as having their own flaws, which, no doubt, on a serious note, they would have had. I tend to enjoy the quirky/zaniness factor and the tongue-in-cheek sense that Nick Park films have and this film is no exception. I wouldn't say, however, that this is more memorable compared to other such films. However, I should point out that its very much football focussed, plot wise, so the football theme/references could get a bit boring if your not a fan of the sport, though it is pretty lighthearted and, suffice to say, not intended to be taken especially seriously (seriously, can you imagine cave people engaging on football matches?).
Overall this is a fun and amusing, family friendly watch which is worth a watch if your interested in the story, although it isn't better than the previous Aardman studios films.
While not as good as most of Aardman's movies, Early Man is still a solid film. The story can get generic and predictable at points. The characters are bland and one-note. It has a good quantity of clichés (one of the most notable is the pet character: Hogdog. It is a boring cliché that every protagonist's pet is or behaves like a dog) and overall the writing gets pretty weak. One of its redeeming qualities, however is its comedy. If we judge it as a comedy, this movie is great. Most of the jokes are genuinely funny. Most jokes rely on slapstick which might not be everbody's cup of tea, but at least for me, it worked really well. Yeah, the humor can get bad at times, but for the most part, it is a really fun movie. Obviously the animation looks great, showing that even with its weaker films, Aardman always shows tons of effort in the animation and visuals. Overall, it is a really fun family film, but from Aardman we expect more than just "serviceable entertainment". Compared to other Aardman films this movie is really "childish". Don't expect a masterpiece, nor to be emotionally moved or blown away. I recommend it, though.
I was really looking forward to this, and yes the animation is good, BUT the story is boring and predictable. Its poor..Poor, poor. Expect so much more from Ardmann...
A friend told me that the king's clothes form the Argentine flag, hmm now it seems to me just an English propaganda. Resentment ruined the movie. I don't support the satirical humor that spreads hatred between peoples, sorry.