Movie Review: “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs”

Seen on: July 1, 2009

The players: Directors: Carlos Saldanha, Mike Thurmeier, Writers: Michael Berg, Peter Ackerman, Mike Reiss, Voice cast: Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Queen Latifah, Simon Pegg

Facts of interest: None whatsoever.

The plot: Sid, Manny, Ellie and Diego are back in action, and this time, they end up trapped in a scary place inhabited by angry dinosaurs.

Our thoughts: The time has come for this “Ice Age” to end. Neither inventive nor in any way entertaining, Carlos Saldanha’s “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” is merely a product of a studio sacrificing compelling storytelling for the sake of making tons of moola at the box office. In the end, there’s nothing passionate or amusing about this sequel… only more of the same.

As the third installment in the popular animated series opens, Manny and Ellie (Ray Romano & Queen Latifah) are expecting a baby mammoth, while Diego (Denis Leary) decides to leave his gang and start over somewhere else. Meanwhile, Sid (John Leguizamo) is kidnapped by an angry T-Rex after stealing three of her dinosaur eggs.

One thing quickly leads to another, and before they know it, our lead characters find themselves trapped in an exotic world inhabited by mostly aggressive dinosaurs. With Sid nowhere to be found, Manny, Ellie and Diego team up to embark on a perilous rescue mission across unknown territories…

Much like the recent “Madagascar” sequel, “Dawn of the Dinosaurs” follows a plot way too identical to those of its predecessors. You would think the filmmakers would mix things up a little in this latest installment, but instead, all we get to watch is a strikingly familiar story line infused with strikingly familiar themes.

Just like in the previous flicks, Sid, Mannie, Ellie and Diego spend most of the time working out their differences and realizing yet again that teamwork and loyal friendship are the best ways to overcome hurdles. As far as the humor and action are concerned, “Dinosaurs” doesn’t have much to offer either. It all just feels dry and boring.

As usual, the film’s best moments are those involving Scrat (and his new opponent Scratte), and even though you may have seen some of his scenes in the trailers already, they still provide the occasional comic relief. The rest of the film may keep younger cinemagoers entertained for the most part, but as far as I’m concerned, it almost put me to sleep.

Freaky quote: "Talk to the trunk. " – Queen Latifah

The final word: I honestly don’t know what else to tell you about this one. “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” boasts gorgeous animation, but in terms of story and characters, it falls flat. Whether we will get to see a fourth film probably depends on this one’s box office performance, and something tells me it’s going to earn some big bucks.

Article by Franck Tabouring