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Set during the "transition period" between the Stone Age and the Bronze Age, Early Man follows a bunch of cavemen trying to win back their home valley from the ruthless Bronze Age governor Lord Nooth (Tom Hiddleston). To do so, they must bring their Bronze Age rivals to their knees in a game of football, under the leadership of the young Dug (Eddie Redmayne).
This is yet another Aardman film from Nick Park. I had actually seen a couple of Wallace & Gromit features during the last months, but it was pure coincidence that I stumbled upon this one while looking for something to watch with one of my kids. Early Man brings a similar level of fairly British humor that I enjoyed. It also features countless of effective visual gags and great animation.
The voice cast was also pretty good. It includes the likes of Maisie Williams, Timothy Spall, Kayvan Novak, Miriam Margoyles, and Richard Ayoade, among others, and they all do a pretty good job. I do feel like the "Stone Age" theme gets lost a bit after the first act. First, for how markedly different the Stone Age dwellers are versus their Bronze Age counterparts, but also by how it all leads to a football game. Very British, I guess.
Early Man might not be great, but it's still a pretty funny and enjoyable romp with a fun script and some clever gags. Even though it does what it does with confidence, it doesn't really stray that far from the typical sport movie tropes and never really reaches the levels of Wallace & Gromit. But I suppose those two would never be brought to their knees by a bunch of cavemen.
Grade:
EARLY MAN
(2018, Park)
(2018, Park)
"Imagine it!... The mighty Bronze Age brought to its knees by a bunch of cavemen?"
Set during the "transition period" between the Stone Age and the Bronze Age, Early Man follows a bunch of cavemen trying to win back their home valley from the ruthless Bronze Age governor Lord Nooth (Tom Hiddleston). To do so, they must bring their Bronze Age rivals to their knees in a game of football, under the leadership of the young Dug (Eddie Redmayne).
This is yet another Aardman film from Nick Park. I had actually seen a couple of Wallace & Gromit features during the last months, but it was pure coincidence that I stumbled upon this one while looking for something to watch with one of my kids. Early Man brings a similar level of fairly British humor that I enjoyed. It also features countless of effective visual gags and great animation.
The voice cast was also pretty good. It includes the likes of Maisie Williams, Timothy Spall, Kayvan Novak, Miriam Margoyles, and Richard Ayoade, among others, and they all do a pretty good job. I do feel like the "Stone Age" theme gets lost a bit after the first act. First, for how markedly different the Stone Age dwellers are versus their Bronze Age counterparts, but also by how it all leads to a football game. Very British, I guess.
Early Man might not be great, but it's still a pretty funny and enjoyable romp with a fun script and some clever gags. Even though it does what it does with confidence, it doesn't really stray that far from the typical sport movie tropes and never really reaches the levels of Wallace & Gromit. But I suppose those two would never be brought to their knees by a bunch of cavemen.
Grade: