Film Review of the Week

Action

Avatar: Fire And Ash (12A)

Review: A little goes a very long way in the third chapter of director James Cameron’s blockbusting franchise, which has amassed worldwide box office takings in excess of 5.2 billion US dollars and holds the record for the highest grossing film of all time with the saga’s Oscar-winning opening instalment. Cameron and co-writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver deliver a masterclass in candyfloss storytelling, expertly fluffing around an hour of linear plot and character development into more than three hours of jaw-dropping visual spectacle that continues to push the envelope for performance capture technology.

Following the death of eldest son Neteyam (Jamie Flatters) at the hands of Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) and the Resources Development Administration (RDA), Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is mired in grief. He adopts a policy of ‘Say nothing, keep busy’ as his family acclimatises to life in a reef village of the Metkayina tribe under the protection of chief Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) and wife Ronal (Kate Winslet). Jake’s wife Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) is a shadow of her former self, consumed by anger towards the ‘pink skins’ who murdered Neteyam. Jake reminds her that he is one of the people she hates, but defiantly asserts: “It doesn’t matter what colour I am, I still remember what team I’m playing for.”

Surviving son Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) continues to blame himself for Neteyam’s demise and his sister Tuktirey (Trinity Bliss), adopted sister Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) and surrogate brother Spider (Jack Champion) buoy his spirits in the face of sustained attacks by the RDA on pods of sentient whale-like creatures called the Tulkun, Quaritch plots to tear his son Spider away from Jake and forges a dangerous pact with ferocious warrior queen Varang (Oona Chaplin) and the Mangkwan clan, who harness the power of fire from a kingdom steeped in volcanic ash. This union threatens the Sully family and once again, they fight for survival. As rivalries intensify, Kiri leverages her strong connection to Eywa, the maternal consciousness that sustains life in myriad forms on Pandora.

The law of diminishing returns holds firm for Avatar: Fire And Ash, the weakest phase of humanity’s bloodthirsty battle with the Na’vi. A 197-minute running is unnecessary self-indulgence on Cameron’s part but he continues to dazzle with digitally rendered artistry on bioluminescent land, underwater and in the air. Especially in 3D, his bombastic picture is an intoxicatingly immersive experience, strapping us to the back of an airborne banshee as it barrel rolls around the floating Hallelujah Mountains or deep diving with a plesiosaur-like ilu into the spawning ground of the ancient Tulkun.

Scriptwriters rely on the undeniable emotional pull of a blended family rallying in the face of cataclysmic adversity as glue between outlandish set pieces. Worthington and Saldana accentuate the divide between their anguished couple and Chaplin relishes her showy introduction as one of the deadliest predators on the alien moon. Female characters of every species continue to tip the balance of power. Mothers are the necessity of Cameron’s invention.

Animation

The SpongeBob Movie: Search For SquarePants (PG)

Review: An accursed salty seadog, who has been condemned to languish in ghostly form beneath the waves, exploits the delightful naivete of Bikini Bottom’s most trusting resident in the fourth big screen adventure for characters from Nickelodeon’s long-running animated TV series. It’s a big day for SpongeBob SquarePants (voiced by Tom Kenny). He is finally tall enough to ride the Shipwreck rollercoaster at the local amusement park with best friend Patrick Star (Bill Fagerbakke) – a nerve-racking rite-of-passage to finally disprove Mr Krabs’ (Clancy Brown) assertion that SpongeBob is a “bubble-blowing baby boy”.

The mere sight of the white-knuckle attraction overwhelms SpongeBob and he pulls out at the last minute, making up an excuse that he promised to ride with Mr Krabs. Thankfully, the fast food restaurateur perpetuates the lie to spare SpongeBob’s blushes and discloses his own proud seafaring history with The Flying Dutchman (Mark Hamill) that led him to be awarded a coveted Swashbucklers Certificate. Every hero’s journey starts with one squish so SpongeBob resolves to earn a certificate too.

He accidentally summons The Flying Dutchman and feisty sidekick Barb (Regina Hall), who set the whippersnapper a series of challenges to demonstrate his intestinal fortitude, panache, daring and bravery. However, this is a cunning ruse to get SpongeBob to unwittingly break the pirate’s curse. Once Mr Krabs learns that SpongeBob and Patrick are in peril, he leads a daredevil rescue mission flanked by Squidward Tentacles (Rodger Bumpass) and, of course, Gary the snail (Kenny again).

Directed at a brisk pace by Derek Drymon, The SpongeBob Movie: Search For SquarePants sidelines many series regulars including Plankton (Mr Lawrence) and Sandy Cheeks (voiced by Carolyn Lawrence) to gleefully contrive a mission-based escapade for the perpetually optimistic yellow protagonist, who excretes a brick every times he gets nervous. Kenny, Fagerbakke and co embrace their familiar roles with fizzing energy while Hamill shivers his timbers and blesses his barnacles as the wonderfully deranged pirate, who believes SpongeBob is his unlikely salvation.

Hall has comparatively little to do besides underscore the onscreen pantomime villainy. Visuals go into retina-searing overdrive when characters descend into the watery underworld. A script co-written by Pam Brady and Matt Lieberman trades in sniggering, family-friendly humour and childlike lunacy that will be familiar to fans of the TV show, like a gleeful play fight between SpongeBob and Patrick, slapping each other back and forth with their spilled intestines while Barb stares aghast and splutters, “What is happening?!” Catchy original song Big Guy performed by rapper Ice Spice aka Isis Gaston, who provides the voice of an amusement park ticket taker, is a bona fide ear worm to accompany SpongeBob’s transformation from absorbent zero to adorably hapless hero.

Animation

The Super Elfkins (U)

Review: Tiny helpers, who sew, craft and clean under the cover of darkness in modern-day Cologne, learn the power of community and collaboration in a heartwarming computer-animated sequel directed by Ute von Munchow-Pohl, which is cheerfully dubbed for young audiences on this side of the English Channel. Spirited rebel Elfie (voiced by Cindy Eliz) continues to exasperate elders Brimur (Jo Kaye) and Vendla (Madelin Marchant) with her unelfceptable behaviour. They decide by majority vote to put Elfie under house arrest.

Regardless, Elfie leaves her room and encounters a high-tech Elfkin named Bo (Jackson Poole), who is part of an elite team of operatives that uses gadgets and gizmos to carry out top-secret missions. This renegade band of Elfkins commanded by Horik (Tim Powers) comprises clumsy rookie Bo, Gulfi (David Cherry) and Ila (Rosana Smith). They have recently returned from Vienna to their ancestral home in the cathedral city of Cologne and Elfie is “super crazy delighted” to make their acquaintance. Alas, Vendla believes the legend that these outcasts are evil imps.

Elfie is caught between two factions: on one side are best friends Kipp (Roly Gutierrez) and Buck (Greg Romero), and on the other is the promise of daredevil thrills with Bo and co. Police officer Lansky (Leigh Sterling) and her feisty cat are fixated on proving the existence of Elfkins by capturing the elusive creatures. Elfie is perfectly placed to unite two tribes and protect her caring kin from the human world.

The Super Elfkins retains the sweet sincerity and wholesomeness of the original film, also directed by von Munchow-Pohl, and marginally expands the colourful universe of tiny folkloric characters, who secretly accomplish tasks that us humans forget or do not have the physical energy to complete. Bakery-themed shenanigans of the first instalment get a high-tech upgrade in a sequel filled with drone acrobatics and CCTV surveillance but similar amounts of heartfelt sentiment.

The determined police antagonist and feline accomplice, who obsessively pursue the Elfkins, are reminiscent of Gargamel and Azrael in the Smurfs. Animation is sufficiently detailed to survive close scrutiny on a big screen (Elfie’s hair ruffles convincingly in the wind) but doesn’t push any boundaries for the medium. Little Elfie’s search for her identity, without sacrificing her individuality, is chronicled in familiar story beats by scriptwriter Jan Strathmann and expository dialogue. “I really need to find out where I belong,” the conflicted heroine sombrely confides to one of her best friends, with a hand resting pointedly on her heart. Awww.