Friday, December 16, 2011

Movie review - Puss in Boots.

Looking for some light entertainment with fun characters that's doesn't require wrestling with your brain that only goes for 90 minutes? Look no further, Puss in Boots is for you!


PiB tells the story of Puss (Antonio Banderas) before the events that introduced him to us in Shrek 2. A wanted criminal, Puss is going to steal some magic beans from outlaws Jack and Jill (Billy Bob Thornton & Amy Sedaris) when he is interrupted by Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek) who is after those beans herself. Giving chase after the robbery goes wrong, he discovers that she's working for a blast from the past - Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis), Puss' childhood best friend from their time in the San Ricardo Orphanage...


What can I say? This is an enjoyable film albeit unchallenging. I don't use that word to be derogatory - it's more that unlike Up! or Wall-E, there was not a great deal of emotional-string pulling. It's a straightforward tale of adventure with flashbacks to show how Puss became the mercenary who ultimately has a heart of gold. Unlike the Shrek films, it's not overburdened by pop culture references although there are lots of little gags about they way cats are - chasing lights, playing a bit too roughly with the hamster, the hypnotic big eyes jokes...all amusing but again, nothing spectacular. 


The visual style is a departure from Shrek as it is set in a dry and dusty Mexican/Western environment and quite interesting to look at. I saw this movie in 2D but as with all CG animated movies these days, it was clearly also made for 3D and featuring a lot of action sequences - various chases, an amazing sequence when the magic beans are planted. The highlight however is definitely the dance fight sequence between Puss and Kitty that pretty much came out of nowhere, and the likes of which have definitely not featured in any other CGI movie to date! 


Does this review sound not positive enough? If so, don't take it to mean it's not good. It is good, it's just not the best animated film ever, possibly not even the best of this year (I haven't seen Kung Fu Panda 2 yet but I'm told it's better!). It's fun without being groundbreaking. That makes it a solid...
6.5-7/10

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