RATCHET & CLANK (Kevin Munroe, Jerrica Cleland). 94 minutes. Opens Friday (April 29). See listing. Rating: NN
The Ratchet & Clank video game series goes for easy brand extension on the big screen, repurposing old parts and plots in a space adventure that shows few signs of creative life.
Characters, scenes, designs and gags will be familiar to fans of the original 2002 game. So now they can enjoy this spit-shined take in both theatrical and PS4 versions.
Even those unfamiliar with the feline-alien mechanic Ratchet and his tin-can partner, Clank, will recognize the storys beats. Ratchet is essentially Luke Skywalker, while Clank could be R2-D2 and C-3POs offspring. They join an elite squad of rangers to stop a madman from blowing up planets.
The games cheeky and self-referential humour is lightly sprinkled throughout, but many of the its pleasures dont translate to the movie screen.
Rachets weapons cache isnt as exciting without a controller in hand. The movie does little to compensate, as if it would rather be competent and dull than compete with the source material in any way.
