Getting G-Piggy with it

G-Force (3D)
U; Comedy
Dir: Hoyt Yeatman
Cast: Bill Nighy, Sam Rockwell, Nicolas Cage, Penelope Cruz, Jon Favreau, Zach Galfianakis, Tracy Morgan, Steve Buscemi
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What's it about: The other film that revolves around rodents this week (Hindi release Bal Ganesh 2, a tale told by five mice is one), G-Force has a Mission Impossible type premise. Guinea pigs developed for combat, recon and surveillance and secretly funded by the FBI, are on the brink of having their operations shut down. After their latest mission goes off successfully (or so it seems), the feds drop in to check progress; that's when disaster strikes. The top-secret file they were to flick, disappears. Their lab is shut down but not before the g-pigs disappear. Their new mission: while trying to get back to Ben (Zach), scientist and their ops head, figuring out how household appliances are going to be used to take over the world.
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What's hot: The voices for each guinea pig are perfectly cast. Each has their own distinct personality that tells a lot about the actors who those voices belong to: Rockwell as Darwin, is a brooding type, Morgan (remember him from 30 Rock?) as Blaster is hyperactive and quite the ladies' man totally in love with himself and Cruz as the femme fatale Juarez, likes to keep her suitors guessing. Nic Cage as Speckles (a mole) plays a mysterious character with grey shades and Favreau as Hurley, a glib talker who could well be the closest in character to Bert Lahr's Cowardly Lion are the only oddballs here. And I mean that in a good wayu2026
The one-liners may be cheesy as hell, but they're quite entertaining.

What's not: The 3-D version does absolutely nothing to enhance your movie-watching experience making the whole exercise, gimmicky at best. With three-dimensional films becoming more the norm than an exception, the expectations mount with each film. For all the supposed technological progress that the film seems to decry, it sure is very low on effects in the first place. Also, is this film going for a 'kiddie flick' or 'for all ages' tag? That is something that's not made amply clear.
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What to do: Talking guinea pigs may seem a cute bet, but only as long as you find them funny. I do hope they have better luck than those squeaking chipmunks.