 | |
List Price: $29.99 | | Label: Walt Disney Pictures
Salesrank: 40
Released: December 15, 2009 |
| Our Price: $9.99 |
|
|
MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Media: DVD |
|
Editorial Review:
Buckle up for thrilling edge-of-your-seat action and laugh-out-loud fun in Disney’s family comedy adventure G-Force. Just as the G-Force — an elite team of highly trained guinea pigs — is about to save the world, the F.B.I. shuts the secret unit down. But these next-generation action heroes — Darwin, loyal team leader; Blaster, weapons expert with attitude to spare; Juarez, drop-dead gorgeous martial arts diva; and tag-along Hurley — won’t be stopped. Armed with the latest in high-tech spy equipment, and with the F.B.I. on their tails, the fur flies as they race against the clock to save the world. From the producer of the Pirates Of The Caribbean trilogy and National Treasure, and filled with high-octane action, daredevil stunts, cutting-edge special effects and outrageous comedy, G-Force is fantastic fun for the whole family.
Description of G-Force (Single Disc Widescreen):
G-Force just might be the best Jerry Bruckheimer action film in many a moon. The film is exuberant, and its premise--don't think big for an animated caper film, think small--brilliantly upends the more-bigger-faster trope of American action films… with cute, little, furry guinea pigs.
Bruckheimer, the action genius behind the likes of the Pirates of the Caribbean, Con Air, The Rock, Armageddon, and many more, here teams with visual effects maestro Hoyt Yeatman, who writes and directs. The combo is potent, and the fact that they streamed their blow-'em-up vision through a film about tiny rodents saving the world makes the whole confection a hilarious family-friendly experience as well as a satisfying action adventure. The premise isn't earth-shattering: oddball, unexpected heroes are called on to save the day (Men in Black, Underdog, etc.). But the lowly guinea pig has been long overdue to get its moment in the spotlight. And now the free world knows whom it can really trust. The film mixes the animated heroes with real-life actors, including the sardonic British character actor Bill Nighy, who plays an evil mogul out to take over and/or destroy the world. The U.S. government, it turns out, has been nurturing a special squad for occasions just such as this. It's just that it's been nurturing them in small pens with wood shavings on the floor and running wheels for exercise. Will Arnett, deadpan and spot-on, plays the human agent who has the unenviable task of wrangling the guinea pig G-Force, and is a deft foil for the bad guys as well as for the mini-heroes.
But the true powerhouse acting belongs to those giving voices to the guinea pig agents, including Sam Rockwell, Penélope Cruz, Steve Buscemi, and, as the voice of a domesticated layabout, Jon Favreau. The film's standout, though, is Tracy Morgan, whose Agent Blaster is bellicose, fearless, and as full of malapropisms as Morgan's character on 30 Rock. (In fact, the viewer keeps half-expecting Blaster to turn to Cruz's female agent, Juarez, and yell "Liz Lemon!") G-Force is full of belly laughs for kids, as well as their action-film-fan parents. --A.T. Hurley
Stills from G-Force (Click for larger image)
G-Force (Single Disc Widescreen) Reviews:
Perhaps I am too old for these type of movies... 
2009-11-24 - I don't mean to be negative about it, but this movie is just another one of those "let's put animals in the movie so that we can impress the kids" but my son and his friends would not sit in the theater to watch the movie because it did not catch their attention very well. At first, they thought it was cool because the hamsters were talking, but then they just got bored. It is pretty sad when talking gerbils do not even thrill 6-year-olds... maybe animal lovers liked it?
Harmless and fun entertainment for kids and the adults that accompany them 
2009-09-07 - We were trying to figure out which family-friendly movie to take our almost 5 year-old this weekend, and though I was rooting for "Ponyo", hubby favored "G-Force", so that's what we watched. It was fun, but this is definitely one of those movies that require you to check your brains at the door. The plot is rather silly, about an entrepreneur [played by Bill Nighy of all people] who plans on taking over the world via his home appliances. The only ones who seem able to stop him are a bunch of guinea pigs, and yes, a mole of superior intellect who have been trained to carry out espionage activities. The guinea pigs comprise Darwin, Juarez, Blaster, and the mole is called Speckles. Well, the Feds get wind of the operation and shut it down, and the animals find themselves in a pet store. To cut a long story short - the rest of the movie deals with Darwin and company trying to free themselves and help bring the bad guy down.
My almost 5-year-old was riveted to the screen though a lot of the humor seemed lost on her. The humor was ok, though it did seem pitched more to older kids than the younger ones. There are lots of cute moments as is typical for movies like this, and the CGI effects are pretty decent though not spectacular. My main complaint is the use of tech-speak which came across as overly heavy for a movie geared towards kids...I understand why it was used, but it seemed rather unnecessary. Final verdict - family-friendly, mindless kids' entertainment with the requisite positive messages embedded within, i.e. teamwork, friendship, believing in one's self etc.
Artificially neat. Austerely narrated. 
2009-08-31 - Guinea pigs might be offended with such sanitized furs dressing that never pick straws of dust. Except of few wet furs, the extra clean and dry coats of the actors hindered the indulgence in the scenario.
Relying on a governmental recruitment scenario to bridge the world of animals was not a perfect choice, taking into account that those guinea pigs possess greater skills different from artificial intelligence.
The excessive rationalization of lingual communication with headsets was another unnecessary gadget in a fictional tale.
In addition, on the down side, the talking voices were not the best or the most provocative. Let alone the austere pursuit of the super semiconductor chip that falls beyond the realm of young viewers.
"Poop in his hand. Poop in his hand." 
2009-08-04 - A line from the movie. I loved it. I mean, what else can a guinea pig do to defend itself?
There is a team of combat-trained, commando guinea pigs. They call themselves the G-Force and go on special missions, like Special Agents. I saw this 3-D Disney flick in the movies and found it very cute and entertaining. Their mission is to break into the estate of a former arms dealer, hack into his computer, and find out what he developed this special microchip for. This one FBI Special Agent (Sector Head, I guess) doesn't see any use for the G-Force, so when they APPEAR to have botched a mission, the FBI guy shuts down the operation and the commandos wind up for sale in a pet store. Of course, the story begins here with the team trying to get out and back together again, and continue on with their mission. One of the guinea pigs is Penelope Cruise and another is Nicholas Cage and there are others. It's cute and it has great computer graphic imaging. It seems to be fine for little children. The worst I remember hearing was "poop in his hand" and "get your face out of my butt." There were a bunch of little ones at the theater and they all seemed to enjoy the movie as much as I did. (Hey, my inner child insisted on being entertained.)
A cute one for the kids 
2009-08-03 - Take the Mission Impossible franchise and replace the MI team with cute, fuzzy, and very small animals. Somehow, it works. The CGI critters blend seamlessly with the live actors and scenes, making it incredibly easy to suspend disbelief.
As with any good kids' movie, there's enough wit to keep the paying grown-up amused. The "you can if you try" message comes across as heavy handed at one point and a plot reversal seems abrupt, but those things seem minor. It's a cute popcorn movie for the kids.
-- wiredweird