Movie Review: Ratchet and Clank
What We Liked
What We Didn't Like
I would feel dishonest writing this review if I didn’t mention my attachment to the game series on which this film is based: I am a massive fan and have been playing them since Ratchet and Clank was first released in 2002. I have played every single entry in the franchise and have almost always been completely satisfied with my experience. Naturally, when I heard my beloved duo was making the transition to the big screen, I was delighted. Perhaps it was 
these admittedly high expectations that led to it being a generally disappointing experience, however there are a few reasons that I think I would have come to this conclusion regardless of my history with the franchise.
The film follows Ratchet (voiced by James Arnold Taylor), a young Lombax hoping to become a hero. Meanwhile, Alonzo Drek (voiced by Paul Giamatti) and his evil partners Dr. Nefarious (voiced by Armin Shimerman) and Victor Von Ion (Sylvester Stallone) are dead set on destroying planets in order to build Drek’s dream home. Ratchet’s hero, Captain Qwark (voiced by Jim Ward) leads a group called the Galactic Rangers, which Ratchet – with the help of his newfound robotic companion, Clank (voiced by David Kaye) – becomes a part of. While Ratchet and Clank excel as members of the team, Qwark’s jealousy of Ratchet’s bravery and heroics put the group in jeopardy. Other characters include Ratchet’s boss and mentor Grim (voiced by John Goodman) and the Galactic Rangers’ head of intelligence, Elaris (voiced by Rosario Dawson), who are the film’s strongest side characters, no doubt due to the talent of their voice actors. While the story is identical to the newest game (a re-imagining of the 2002 classic), there are some things that simply don’t feel right.
One of the trademarks of the Ratchet and Clank games is their brand of humor. The titles of the games themselves do a great job of showcasing the games’ kind of self-aware sensibilities (Going Commando, Up Your Arsenal, Quest for Booty, A Crack in Time) and the in-game humor only ups the ante. It’s often laugh-out-loud funny and even when it’s not, there are very few games that give you any laughs at all. The movie is probably just as funny as the games, but movies are held to a different standard. When more than half of the jokes fell flat at the screening I attended, I began to wonder why it felt so much more awkward than if they hadn’t landed in the games. I think this is solely due to the extremely high standards being set by contemporary animated features (from Pixar, DreamWorks, and a couple other lesser studios). It has gotten to the point where many of the theatrically released animated films are on par, at least comedically, with many of the live-action comedies. Ratchet and Clank is funny for a video game. The problem is, it’s not a video game anymore.
The differences between the latest game and the film are few and far between, with many of the games cut-scenes turning out to have been borrowed straight from the finished film. There is one glaring difference, however, and that is in the chemistry between the titular characters. In the games, Ratchet is a constant badass, a natural born hero, and cares deeply about Clank. In the movie they are strictly partners. One gets a sense, by the end, that it may be the beginning of a beautiful friendship, as it were, but Ratchet spends a lot of time just generally being pretty selfish. It may sound silly to be so invested in the fictional friendship between a cartoon Lombax and robot, but this is a friendship I (along with millions of other fans) have been following for over a decade.
Perhaps most importantly, is that this is a film for fans. I really can’t see anyone going into it with no knowledge of the characters or universe and really enjoying the movie. There are just too many in-jokes, too many references, and too much fan service. So, while I appreciated these aspects (and trust me, I really did), I couldn’t help but think of the average viewer who takes their children to see it this weekend and feels completely alienated by something they weren’t even supposed to understand.
Still, at the end of the day I have to take a step back and understand that, like it or not, Ratchet and Clank is a movie for children. And young fans of the games will almost certainly love it. In fact, upon exiting the theater I heard one family discussing it in the parking lot. The mother turned to the father and said, “well I’m glad we didn’t have to pay for that,” to which their son (who was probably 9 or 10) immediately responded, “what are you talking about? It was the best movie ever.” I think that says it all.
Rocco Tenaglia
