REVIEW: The Angry Birds Movie

Courtesy of Sony

I’m not sure who plays a game about suicide-bombing birds on their phone and thinks “this would make a great movie!” Yet here we are. I’m going to get straight to the point with this one: the movie’s less-than-creative title is your first clue at the level of effort that went into this cinematic endeavor.

Is it good? Not really, but it exceeded my basement-level expectations. Is it funny? Depends on how you feel about 97 minutes of bird and pig-related puns. My five-year-old daughter laughed her head off the entire time.

In case you thought the game was too complicated, The Angry Birds Movie is an origin story that tells you exactly why the birds are so mad. You know the little 10-second story you skip so you can start playing the game? Where the green pigs steal the birds’ eggs? Screenwriter Jon Vitti expands that to feature length. However, before we get to see dive-bombing birds, we have to spend 70 minutes getting through a bunch of setup.

After Red (Jason Sudeikis) ruins a kid’s birthday party, he gets sentenced to anger management classes where he meets Chuck (Josh Gad, not even bothering to change up the voice he used for Olaf in Frozen), Bomb (Danny McBride) and Terence (Sean Penn…yeah, you read that right). Later, when a ship full of green pigs led by the persuasive Leonard (Bill Hader) charms the all the birds on the island, Red is the only one who doesn’t fall under his spell.

He thinks the pigs have ulterior motives. We know he’s right, but it takes another 30 minutes to get there. After the invaders’ true natures are revealed, Red and his friends journey to seek the advice of Mighty Eagle (Peter Dinklage). When that doesn’t go as planned, Red realizes he must turn his greatest weakness into a strength.

Pixar this ain’t, but I have to admit I was impressed by the film’s colorful visuals (a slightly heightened version of the game’s environments) and the admirable efforts of the voice cast. These talented actors earned their paychecks. Sudeikis is the perfect choice for a sardonic, angry cardinal and Dinklage commits 100 percent to his role as the mythical Mighty Eagle. He’s easily the movie’s standout character despite his lack of screen time.

If you have kids, you already know you’re probably seeing The Angry Birds Movie. However, I’ll leave you with a word of warning. The last half hour contains a surprising amount of slightly altered profanity for a PG-rated flick. I’m not a prude by any means, but even I was taken aback at lines like “we’re angry flockin’ birds” and “drop your nuts and move your butts.” It just seemed weird and out of place, like it came from an old draft of the script they forgot to change.

The Angry Birds Movie is rated PG for rude humor and action.

Grade: C+