G-FORCE review by Gary Dean Murray

Like every other person on the planet, I have a soft spot for Disney. Everybody I have every talked to about their first movie always states that Disney was their maiden venture in the hallowed halls of cinema. My first remembered flick was Jungle Book. For some kid, G-Force will be their first exposure to Walt and his company. And that would be kind of sad.

The story of G-Force is of a animal spies. As our little drama begins, the team of super-intelligent animals is sent to infiltrate the evil Saber Industries during the launch of a new product line. The Guinea Pig leader Darwin (Evolving animal—Darwin. Get the joke.) is inside the building with the help of a mole mole Speckles (The mole is a mole. Get the joke.). Darwin finds that computer chips have been inserted into every appliance in order to bring about the newest technology, machines that can communicate with each other. Darwin also finds that a program called “Cluster Storm” is to take place and steals the data off of Saber's computer.

This James Bond style opening, with espionage and action takes us back to the lab. The new FBI head (Will Arnet) comes in and finds that the scientist have created talking Guinea Pigs, a computer savvy mole and a spying fly. He calls for the project to be shut down. Well, the three G-Force Pigs and the Mole escape and are taken to a Pet Store. There they meet Hercules, a 'normal' Guinea Pig who shares his quarters, along with a paranoid gerbil and a trio of idiot mice. The mice get to make some of the funniest lines of the work as they state the obvious in triple harmony.

The goal of the G-Force team is to break-out of their retail confines and assemble the team, taking out Saber and all the bad guys while still avoiding FBI agents who want their capture. We see Juarez (Penelope Cruz) and Blaster (Tracy Morgan) adopted by a brother and sister. The little girl wants to dress up Juarez as a pretty princess and the teen boy wants to torture Blaster. Both the humans are going to be in for a shock when they discover that the rodents are just a bit smarter than usual. And along the way to reconciliation with his team, Darwin finds out about his past.

The voices of the non-human are the biggest stars of the cast. Sam Rockwell does a workman job with his reading of Darwin. But since he's the hero, he gets few chances for laughs. Penelope Cruz as Juarez comes across much better. She's like a femme fatale but without the drastic caustic manner. She plays both of her male companions off each other, keeping them guessing abo ut her affections. Tracy Morgan gets the lions share of laughs as Blaster, the off the cuff crazed rodent. He delivers the manic lines with a certain a plume while never going too far out there. But, far and away, Nicholas Cage gives the best reading with Speckles our mole. His is the most dramatic of our cast of creatures and Cage does show a nice overreach in what could have been a very minor part.

The biggest problem is with the human cast. They are such afterthoughts that it almost becomes a distraction. This is a computer made film and the humans are not up to par with the 0's and 1's. But the big finish reminded me more of a low rent version of Transformers with loads of flash and little substance. This is a Bruckheimer flick which means that we're going to get explosions and special effects over plot and character.

G-Force isn't a movie as much as it is an attempt to build a franchise. The film is set up for a sequel and will probably rake in enough cash not only for that purpose but also for a Disney Channel series. Disney has never been shy at marketing their products and building brand. This should be yet another money making machine.

Disney has always had a most of the market in making 'family' films, ones that are to entertain both the kids and grandma. But over the years, the general tone of what is considered a family film has changed. What is accepted now wouldn't have been in generations past. In G-Force there are enough bodily function references to make the kids laugh and the adults wince. It isn't Bruno but just a tad bit too much especially in a Disney film. I expect the Mouse Company to set the bar higher than any other studio.

The film is presented in the newest 3-D technology and we get all those tricky effects. Animals and glass fly at the audience over and over again just to remind us that 'yes indeed' you are watching a film in 3-D. While this technology does work well with solely computer generated films where the all the image can be controlled, it doesn't work as well in the regular aka real world. The effects with the people were more like looking through a View Master toy.

But, my seven year-old god daughter who went with me to see G-Force, just loved it and tried to talk me into getting her a guinea pig after the screening. I asked her what she thought of the film and she said that it was too short and really funny. Those could be two of the most insightful comments ever stated.

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