Ratchet and Clank

 

Movie adaptations of video games always have bad luck when being adapted as theatrical movies. Some can please the fans like Mortal Kombat (1995) while most of the time they alienate everyone like Super Mario Bros. (1993) and any film directed by the infamous Uwe Boll. Animated films of video games can provide the opposite result pending on intending target audience. The numerous films of Nintendo’s Pokemon have been successful and well liked among its fans but were made only for the fans and not everyone else. Disney’s Wreck-It-Ralph (2012) is the one exception that is well beloved by nearly everyone and they don’t need to know anything about video games to enjoy the film. The only downside for Wreck-It-Ralph is that the film contains an original story with video game elements and cameos of famous characters. Meaning that while it is still considered the best video game film, it is not a video game adaptation. Flash-forward to 2016 and we have Sony’s first video game movie with one of their famous Playstation mascots from 2002, Ratchet and Clank (2016).

Ratchet is a lone Lombax on the planet Veldin who is a skilled mechanic that dreams of one day joining the Galactic Rangers along side his hero, Captain Qwark. Elsewhere, Chairman Drek builds a robot army with the help of Dr. Nefarious for his plans to construct a new planet by taking part of other planets by destroying them. One of the war machines became defected and becomes the little robot Clank who flees the factory to warn the Rangers about Drek’s army. After Ratchet is rejected from the Ranger tryouts, he discovers Clank who crashes on his planet while trying to locate the Rangers. Ratchet takes Clank to planet Kerwan during an invasion and was able to defeat them, resulting in Qwark reluctantly recruiting Ratchet and Clank into the rangers much to his regret. Trouble brews as not only is Ratchet excited to be a hero while ignoring Clank’s warnings about the impending threat, but also Drek and Nefarious intend to succeed in their goal by manipulating the imbecilic and jealous Qwark under the promise of being popular again. So time is of the essence for Ratchet and Clank not only to prove themselves as heroes but save the galaxy from the evil that plans to destroy it.

Compared to other video game adaptations, Ratchet and Clank looks and feels 100% like the actual game. The settings are exactly as fans remember them, the visuals are smooth and crisp, no characters are redesigned and they have most of the original voice cast who played the characters since 2002. So this should be a perfect adaptation right? That is what I would say but the sad truth is that unfortunately it does not. As a fan of the series I do stand by that this is one of the better movie adaptations of a game we have had in years. Which makes the end result all the more disappointing when the story fails to deliver. The story is not awful by any means as it does stay true to its source material. But as a film it is criminally generic, as it does not offer anything new to fans and newcomers alike. The film basically goes from point A to point B, tell a few one liners here and there, pretty much telling the same kind of story we have seen before about an underdog who wants to prove their worth. It is like the film is set on autopilot the whole time.

I should note that before the film came out on April 29^th this year, the remake of the original game provides a different experience that I have to compare the two in this review. Like the film, the game is a retelling of the original that even includes some cutscenes from the film during gameplay. Unlike the film however, the game goes more of the original PS2 title that fans would remember as it even expands the plot. More importantly, the story and humour fairs much better as a game since players are allowed to experience it and feel the rush of saving planets with a massive arsenal of weapons to control. When comparing the two mediums however, I realized why the film was so mediocre. Remember the comment I made about Ratchet and Clank feeling like its on autopilot? One other film did the exact same thing, Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes (2013). Released first as a video game then re-released as straight to DVD film telling the exact same story without the player interaction. That realization to me hurts Ratchet and Clank even more since it was released weeks after the game came out. So now the film feels like a theatrical commercial for the more entertaining game instead of an original theatrical production.

I seriously don’t want to hate this movie cause it is not really that bad. Professional film critics who relentlessly slam Ratchet and Clank forget that this film was not meant for them. It was meant for gamers and fans of the franchise like myself while introducing the characters to a new audience. To its credit it is still very faithful to its source material. I just wish more thought and effort was put into the story to make the movie not only stand out from the game, but provide a long lasting impact that makes me want to watch the movie again. Hardcore fans of the series will certainly get their fill with this movie, as will kids who are new to the franchise. But as a moviegoer, I advise to either rent the film after home release or just play the game instead to get a richer experience. There is no reason for me to hate this movie like other critics do, but as a fan it just left me feeling empty.