Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Ice Age 3 (2009)

This is topic Ice Age 3 (2009) in forum Film Handlers' Movie Reviews at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://ft-forum.com/ft/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=4;t=001563

Posted by Phil Blake (Member # 2012) on 07-02-2009, 07:33 PM:

I think the kids will love it, It was well made thought the animation was quite good and the sound mix was also passable in analogue.(no dts available)
I guess we all new roughly what to expect with this one. I did think it lacked some of the wit the others had and one character stole the show a bit too much.

3 out of 5 from me.

Posted by Tom Inglis (Member # 5181) on 07-03-2009, 05:58 AM:

As a film, and from a purely adult perspective, i thought it was utterly, utterly awful. With only one redeeming feature (Buck), it failed to have any wit, charm or purpose.

Posted by Lyle Romer (Member # 1266) on 07-03-2009, 07:53 AM:

I completely agree with Tom.

My review is that the Ice Age franchise should have stopped after the original which was actually a very good animated movie.

Posted by Justin Gorka (Member # 3727) on 07-03-2009, 06:04 PM:

Why bother with the 3-D, having seen both 2-D and 3-D (server problems) I really can't see the need for 3-D in this film apart from the gimmic effect. UP on the other hand is made for 3-D!

Posted by Caleb Johnstone-Cowan (Member # 3710) on 07-03-2009, 07:11 PM:

I thought the 3D worked well, it brings depth to the animation and looked good on all the valley shots. Liked the lack of 'jumping out' shots, they look silly.

This was a well made by the numbers Hollywood CGI kids film, and I was surprised at how much I laughed. Simon Pegg did a good job with the Buck character. Scrat and Scratte were funny, as were a couple of the scenes (the laughing bit was stupidly funny). Overall a 3 out of 5.

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 07-04-2009, 07:03 PM:

I watched this in 2D and felt pretty much the same as I did about the first two movies. Most of the comedy was rather dumb and I didn't really care for it. I also think some of the innuendos were a little risque for a kids movie - "milking" the male yak for sure.

Movies like Ice Age make me more appreciative of the story telling ability of Pixar.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 07-05-2009, 12:41 AM:

The real sting is that when a theatre has both 35mm and 3D.....

Folks with kids are going for the value - why spend up to 20 bucks extra for a movie that can be seen normally for less?

Also, have all noticed the 3D release schedule for this year? Only two films are live action whereas the others are either animated or CGA films...sorta of a beginning to a limited audience thing here..

-Monte

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 07-05-2009, 01:14 AM:

I thought it was pretty good, but too much bathroom humor for a kids' movie. The PG was well-earned.

That said, the dialogue was my favorite part. It was witty in a lot of spots, you have to admit. The implausible story line seems to be a feature of all Ice Age movies and sure enough, there's one here too. (What happened to the big melt-down from the last movie?) "Another world under the real world?" They're reaching. For at least 75% of this movie, there's no "ice" to be seen.

The Diego chase scene (when he's first introduced in the movie) was my favorite part. Great action and sound there -- I wanted the scene to go on longer.

I thought the best Scrat segment was the one where they are trapped in bubbles. Very Wile-E-Coyote-like. The one at the end of the film was a major disappointment. Anticlimactic.

Overall -- for myself I would give it a 3 out of 5 stars. It's doing killer business for us too and people are giving it thumbs-up on exiting, so on that basis it's excellent!

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 07-05-2009, 08:48 PM:

The movie is pleasantly entertaining but not great. I might have enjoyed it more if the fader had been set higher -- audio level was barely adequate. The print looked great, clean, nice and crisp image, good color, no lab splices, but reels 2 & 4 were not very steady (other reels were fine). The SR-D audio fell out to analog several times near the beginning of one reel (3 I think).

I give it 2.5 out of 5. Might have scored higher if the sound level were more to my preference.

Today at Cinemark 17 in Springfield, #13, 35mm 2-D.