Ice Age 3: Dawn of the dinosaurs
Director: Carlos Saldanha
Rating: 3/5
Just got back from Bangalore on Sunday, and decided to continue the movie watch where we had left off. This time it was Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and having watched the earlier ones, there was definitely a sense of anticipation, especially as far as the special effects were concerned.
We were all a tad hungry, and as the movie was at Inox, a quick snack-up at McDonalds was just the fuel we needed in order to get by the next couple of hours.
Who knew that putting a saber-toothed tiger, a sarcastic mammoth, a lisping sloth, and a permanently stressed-out squirrel into a subterranean tropical jungle ruled by dinosaurs was a cinematic masterpiece waiting to happen?
The Good
Escalating Chaos: The franchise finally realized that if you can’t beat the prehistoric timeline, you might as well drop your characters into a literal Lost World complete with carnivorous plants and lava falls.
Scrat’s Eternal Struggle: The acorn saga reaches new romantic and physical heights when Scrat meets Scratte, proving that toxic relationships transcend the mammalian-reptilian divide.
Buck: A one-eyed, swashbuckling, dinosaur-hunting weasel who treats an abandoned turnip like his best friend. He steals every single scene he’s in with glorious, unhinged energy. For me, he was easily the star of the movie. He wears a grass eye-patch and wields a mean looking knife, which we later learn is the tooth of a giant T-Rex. His one-liners are truly hilarious, not to mention Buck’s Rules, which are a must for survival in this land.
The Quirky
The timeline here makes zero sense. Mammals, cavemen, and velociraptors chilling in the same ecosystem is historical fan-fiction of the highest order. But hey, just roll with it. When a T-Rex acts like an overprotective golden retriever, logic goes out the window.
The Verdict
It is loud, silly, often ridiculous, but also a must-watch at least once, especially for the fantastic effects. It is available in 3-D unlike the earlier ones if you prefer that. Kids will love it too, though some of the dialogues and humour aren’t strictly for them, so do keep that in mind if you’re taking yours 🙂
Rating: 3/5 acorns. (Somewhat better than the second one, less groundbreaking than the first, but entirely carried by a manic weasel)
