MOVIE REVIEW: ICE AGE 5: COLLISION COURSE

Shane | 23 June 2016 | Reply

MOVIE REVIEW: ICE AGE 5: COLLISION COURSE
Directed by Mike Thurmeier, Galen T Chu
Starring Ray Romano, Denis Leary, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Lopez, Adam DeVine
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
6/10

The fifth and final Ice Age instalment suffers from the inevitable law of diminishing returns, but it throws enough amusing gags at the screen to avoid completely jumping the mammoth.

Collision Course follows our heroes as they try to deal with an asteroid which threatens to end the mammal’s reign on planet Earth. Manny, Diego and Sid are joined by a throng of characters from the previous four films, as well as a few newbies, the directors forgetting that often less is more. Consequently we have an ensemble piece with a throng of characters all vying for a line, rather than a clear cut story that follows the core of the franchise.

Once just the star of a cute short before the first film, the unluckiest squirrel on the planet – the acornly-challenged Scrat – is inserted more into the story here, actually becoming the catalyst for the impending disaster as he accidentally pilots a spacecraft through the galaxy. He provides some of the funniest scenes away from the confused scrabbling of the over-crowded scenes back on terra firma. I’ll wager even if Collision Course is the end of the Ice Age franchise, that we haven’t seen the last of Scrat.

As mentioned, there are some laughs to be had, though much of the setup and humour is recycled and overcrowded. Kids should enjoy the film without caring about these shortcomings – ours did – but for the grown-ups, it’s unlikely that the end of the franchise will break many hearts.