Ratchet and Clank

I went into the screening of Ratchet and Clank knowing very little. I am an avid gamer but never really found myself playing any of the titles. I was more a Jak and Daxter fan myself, but I went in, sat down with other reviewers and the parents with children, and soon the film started.

The story is of Ratchet, a rather strange furry alien who lives in hope of being a hero someday. That day might finally come when his hero, Captain Qwark (who’s a bit like Futurama’s Zapp Brannigan) comes to his home planet looking for a new member of the team. Ratchet’s dreams are crushed, but thankfully evil strikes the galaxy as Doctor Nefarious and Chairman Drek, blow up planets for their own ends. With the help of a defective robot from Chairman Drek’s army, Clank, both he and Ratchet will save the day. What we end up with is a tale of lovable heroes wanting to become more than they are, to be involved in great things. It’s a story we’ve seen a million times before but it felt like there was something compelling about this film, seeing as our characters are a little more unusual than what we’ve previously seen on screen.

What impressed me was the film’s wondrous visual style, offering an appeasing and energetic visual experience. The overall art style matched perfectly to the tone of the film and resembled the games extremely well. The beautiful flow of the animation also benefited the impressive displays of action scenes and the various set pieces. Along with a great look, the film also sounds fantastic with a great soundtrack and some top notch voice acting as well. I loved everyone’s voice work, from John Goodman as the rugged mechanic/parent, to Paul Giamatti as the vicious Charmain Drek.

For the gamers out there, the film offers some great game-related puns and references, including the PS-One start up music played in one scene. Ratchet and Clank’s humour stood out more in terms of its well-written verbal jokes/exchanges rather than the visual elements. What were on display in terms of visual humour were just dull slapstick gags, which were lazy and used a little too often to really appreciate or enjoy. You know they’re not very good when the kids in the cinema aren’t laughing. I, however, felt that some of the verbal elements were excellent. Our main villain and Captain Qwark both have an argument, for example, over a one-liner that doesn’t work in a particular situation and it spans over into a highly intense event.

The main thing that really annoyed me in the film’s plot was the obvious betrayal/plot twist and how poorly it was handled in the rest of the film. It could have worked but it made the individual character irredeemable when knowing full well his actions could actually kill millions. He acts completely shocked when the bad guys go against their promises and he still sides with them even after they tried to kill off our heroes. It made no sense.

Also, to be fair, Ratchet and Clank don’t have a great chemistry. It may be due to the film’s length but sadly they don’t share enough banter and moments of character development to make them a good pairing.

Overall, Ratchet and Clank is an enjoyable 80 minutes and those who love the game will surely enjoy this. I’ve moved away from Playstation in favour for the Xbox consoles, but I still liked certain elements of this animated spectacle. It has some great visuals, good moments of verbal humour and along with some brilliant voice acting. Just forget the lame plot twist and slapstick gags and you’ll have a blast.