Audiences were finally (after seven long years) treated to a sequel to the original film about a family of cavemen, and while not as good as "The Croods," we'll take what we can get.
After all the events of the first film, which was a fantastic combination of action and comedy, the Croods are still looking for their perfect "Tomorrow" to call home. Dad Grug (voiced by Nicolas Cage) remains a brute, with understanding wife Ugga (voiced by Catherine Keener) in tow. Gran (voiced by the late Cloris Leachman) hasn't changed much, and neither have the kids Thunk (voiced by Clark Duke) and Sandy (voiced by Kailey Crawford). However, Guy (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) and Eep (voiced by Emma Stone, who brings so much to her character) are in the throes of teenage love, being overly cutesy and annoying under the watchful eye of Grug.
The family runs across a walled Eden run by the Bettermans, Phil (voiced by an absolutely fantastic Peter Dinklage), his wife Hope (voiced by Leslie Mann), and their teenage daughter Dawn (voiced by Kelly Marie Tran). The Bettermans have built their own oasis with amazing inventions like elevators and indoor plumbing, and all the Croods, with the exception of Grug, are enamored with the place. The Bettermans were the best friends of Guy's now deceased parents, and have designs on the lad for their own Dawn. All is not what it seems behind the walled Utopia, and as the two families clash, there's something outside the wall that will eventually bring them together.
This sequel falls a little shy of the first film, but not due to the voice talent. Peter Dinklage's Phil had me laughing the hardest. His New Age-ish approach to fathering and relationships with his family and the Croods had me rolling. The screen is so full of vibrant colors, they almost singe the retinas. I'm not kidding, the neon colors are nearly blinding. The overall look of the Croods has changed as well, maybe thanks to newer technology? Facial features seem smoother, but once in a while director Crawford (or the SIX credited writers involved) add a touch that we didn't see before- the film makers contort the facial features of the cast in a few scenes that are a little unsettling, and a lot creepy. Some new running gags work (Gran sleeping with her eyes open), and some don't (Gran's hair), but the action-packed climax falls well short of any of the action set pieces of the first film. Younger kids might be bored with a lot of the social commentary humor, not getting the bromance or empowered women gags. The screenplay doesn't play it as "woke" as some other recent films, but it does try some stuff here and there that doesn't work. I did like the couple of musical choices, with some fun Jack Black/Tenacious D songs over the end credits.
Throw in a rather startling amount of violence (the constant sticks in eyes had my own eyes watering), and I appreciated this film for what it tried to do but it falls on the lower end of "good" in the grand scheme of things. I hope we don't have to wait another seven years for a sequel, I would love to see the Croods and Bettermans a lot sooner than that.
Stats:
-Directed by Joel Crawford
-Screenplay by Kevin Hageman & Dan Hageman and Paul Fisher & Bob Logan, Story by Kirk DeMicco & Chris Sanders
-Cast: Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Peter Dinklage, Leslie Mann, Cloris Leachman, Catherine Keener, Clark Duke, Kelly Marie Tran, Kailey Crawford
-Media: Digital Copy
-Running Time: 95 minutes
-Letterboxd rating: (* * * 1/2/* * * * *); IMDb rating: 7/10
-MPAA Rated (PG), contains physical violence, adult situations
