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Monday, July 9, 2012

[6.00/10] Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted [3D] (2012)


Madagascar 3:
Europe's Most Wanted [3D] (2012)


Brief review: While certainly a slight improvement over its average predecessor "Madagascar 2: Escape from Africa", Dreamwork's second sequel to 2005's crowd-pleaser has its flaws and lacks the punch that made the favorite original film so memorable. As disappointing as it may sound, "Europe's Most Wanted" contains very few good laughs, and it's not nearly as funny as its promising trailers suggested it to be. The script is well-written and moderately clever, but let's be honest - a couple of witty lines and clever jokes do not make a smart movie. On the other hand, the story is entertaining, tremendously adventurous, briskly paced and heartfelt, so there's zero boredom. The newly introduced characters are just as likable and adorable as our favorite animated protagonists, and the villain, Captain Chantel DuBois, lifts the movie to another level. At least visually, "Madagascar 3" hardly disappoints. While the execution is far from being super-slick and on-par with the best Dreamwork / Pixar animated features, the CG animation itself is bright, vivid and colorful, and with enough details and stunning CGI backdrops to leave a huge impression on the viewers. The breathtaking 'flying circus' sequence towards the end deserves a special mention, as it certainly has the 'wow factor'. The use of 3D in this particular scene is remarkable, and overall the 3D effects in this animated romp add to the visual experience.

Overall summary: It's entertaining, amusing, adventurous and at times delightfully witty, and the animation is crisp, but "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted" is neither as smart nor as hilarious as it's supposed to be, and in fact, it's not particularly memorable nor very inventive.

This review is also featured on TVFilmNews.com

12 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I was really disappointed with the second one, which was too heavy-handed, but I did enjoy this one and found it rather funny. And this film was made for 3D, which is how we watched it.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Alex, it was amusing, but I didn't laugh hard. Not even once. I found last year's Rio and Tangled WAY MORE FUNNIER than this one.

Gina Gao said...

I found this pretty amusing actually. Good review by the way.

www.modernworld4.blogspot.com

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Glad you found it funny, Gina. To me, it was just okay. :)

Unknown said...

I love the Madagascar films for the penguins. Kowalski and crew rule! LOL I don't need anything but them, honestly. :)

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Mel, the penguins didn't shine that bright this time around. That's why I didn't even mention them in my review. Have you seen the shorts with the penguins only? They're hilarious!

Alex Jowski said...

I actually didn't have a problem with Madagascar 2. I suppose this film is more about reaching a target audience though - my daughter LOVED it and I really found nothing worth liking in Madgascar 3.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Alex, I didn't think either of the two sequels were special. To me, they both were average at best.

farawayeyes said...

Again saw it with my favorite 6 year old and she loves 'em, so I'm OK with that, but I agree nothing special.

I was actually pleasantly surprised that Ice Age 4 far surpassed this.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

farawayeyes, Ice Age 4 was soooo much better than this one, wasn't it.
Madagascar 3 was just okay.

Unknown said...

I’m just happy whenever I can find a movie that my two sons can agree on, and they love the Madagascars! My 14-year-old has been a fan of the movies ever since the first one and he has now gotten my 6-year-old to love them too! I came home from the office at Dish one evening to find them both tucked away under a blanket laughing along to the original movie; I have never seen a cuter sight in my whole life! Now, I can’t wait for the second one to come in the mail so I can see them giggling together again. It was available from the Blockbuster@Home service that we get through our Dish account, so it should be here in no time. I can’t wait!

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Marsha, I'm glad your kids enjoy these animated films so much. I they liked 1 and 2, they will definitely like 3 as well. :)