Early Man

2018 "Time to test their metal"
6.1| 1h29m| PG| en| More Info
Released: 16 February 2018 Released
Producted By: Aardman
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: https://earlymanmovie.com/
Synopsis

Dug, along with his sidekick Hognob, unite a cavemen tribe to save their hidden valley from being spoiled and, all together as a team, to face the menace of a mysterious and mighty enemy, on the turf of an ancient and sacred sport.

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Reviews

Gordon-11 This film tells the story of some Stone Age men who have to challenge Bronze Age men a football game in order to win their land back.The story is really silly, full of cliches and is far fatched. What drives me crazy is that the characters are not even cute. In fact, they look rather horrid! In "Wallace and Gromit", this prototype of characters work, but in "Early Man" it does not work at all. I did not quite enjoy it.
sirwillisiv Aardman Animations has influenced me as an artist and storyteller since early childhood. I was always charmed by the sheer inventiveness and wit of the classic Wallace & Gromit short films, and inspired by the limitless hours of backbreaking precision that's put into stop-motion animation. Sure enough, I was very interested in Aardman's latest film Early Man. It's good, but leaves much to be desired. Early Man is a visually impressive adventure that was sadly ignored. I don't think many people realize how much explicitly detailed work was put into this film. All the characters possess their own distinct figures with several models of varying sizes and multiple facial expressions that were painstakingly constructed individually to reflect their shifting perspectives and unique personalities, respectively. The character animation is also very flowing, showing how far the stop-motion medium has evolved from its extremely choppy roots. The practical settings and computer-generated effects mix rather seamlessly. I can forgive the occasional CGI because animating a volcanic eruption practically by hand with clay lava and gray pillow fuzz acting as the smoke would appear awkward and cheesy for today's visual standards. It would look like a rushed student film than something professionally crafted for the big screen. The jungle and badlands sets were pretty standard looking but I particularly enjoyed the sequences taking place in the Bronze Age city, boasting detailed wood and bronze structures with a slight medieval approach. I wish I got to see more than just the marketplace and the football stadium, like an actual city built in a wildly creative fashion similar to the sewer version of London in Aardman's 2006 feature Flushed Away, or even something pristine yet treacherous like King's Landing in Game of Thrones. I'm certain that Aardman has concepts of more elaborate set designs filed away but the budget just couldn't support it all.Early Man may soar visually, but the story isn't anything new or memorable. It's a pretty standard family-friendly narrative with little to say morally aside from "teamwork is valuable" and it isn't anything truly offensive at the end of the day, aside from a few subtle innuendos that I personally got a chuckle out of, but Aardman has always carried a sneaky history of slipping adult humor in their family films, jokes that fly easily over a child's head. In Curse of the Were-Rabbit, the cheese-loving inventor Wallace censors his nudity with a cardboard box that has a note written "may contain nuts". Heck, Aardman has even explored some rather gritty subjects in the past. In what is perhaps their most darkest picture Chicken Run, the hens are subjected to a life designed from a World War II prisoner-of-war camp, and hens are beheaded, plucked, and eaten (off-screen) by the villainous farmers if they didn't produce enough eggs...AND THIS IS A KID'S FILM. Early Man is definitely not Chicken Run, it's probably Aardman's most lighthearted picture. The only remotely heartrending scene is when Dug discovers a sad truth about his ancestors who invented football and gains cold feet about competing with the Bronze Age team because of it, and it's not very engaging. It's resolved faster than its introduced, not leaving room to let the drama sink in. So, the story is nothing that unique and it's a bit too fast-paced to instill any emotional baggage, but at least Early Man retains the old British charm and wit that made Wallace & Gromit a worldwide sensation and it's without a doubt serviceable family entertainment. As an animation enthusiast, I had an okay time watching it. The sets look neat, the characters are plucky with a decent voice cast to support them, and I really appreciate the hard work that was put into the stop-motion animation despite that its an under-appreciated medium nowadays that promises little monetary gain. Overall, it's like eating a good meal, going back for seconds, and finding no leftovers to savor. I just wish there was something more special for solitary comment, something that made Early Man reach the timeless heights of Wallace & Gromit, but it's as average as a family film can be.
KJ Proulx Aardman is an animation studio that has impressed me since my childhood years. From Chicken Run to Flushed Away, or even Shaun the Sheep, which is a recent favorite of mine, I was very much looking forward to viewing their recent outing. While it may be one of their weakest of the movies they've produced in my opinion, I still got a kick out of it. So much effort is put into these films that it's very difficult to talk down about them. Sure, the style itself may not be for everyone, but notion that actual cinematography is used in creating a film like this is astounding to me. Early Man isn't a movie that will be recognized as one of the best films of 2018 and nor should it, but these movies don't receive enough recognition. Here's why I believe it deserves your time.Set around the plot of a young boy in Dug and his companion in Hognob, they stumble into a city of Bronze, ruled by Lord Nooth. Coming from the cavemen and women lineage, this is a surprise to them. Learning that this city has developed the game of futball (American Soccer in today's terms) from their very own ancestors, they decide to challenge this city for the right to their land back. This plot is very silly and by the numbers, so I wouldn't say it's a very adult film, but as a movie that has a goal of impressing children, while delivering some adult humour, it works tremendously. I found myself shrugging my shoulders at the sheer notion that a sport was the story that fuelled this film, but that being said, it's a solid little movie overall.As aforementioned, these movies look incredible in terms of how they're made. The animation style is to be commended no matter what the quality of the film itself turns out to be. From the visual gags to the unique characteristics, this is a movie that relies heavily on whether or not the audience can buy into the look of the movie. I found myself laughing at background elements or the way something moved, and it was clear that the intentions of the filmmakers were to accomplish just that. If for nothing else, Early Man is a wonderfully shot and animated feature film.Where the film started to lose me was how the plot itself became one of the most predictable things that I've witnessed in a while. The first act presents some very clever jokes and the characters are all likable, but once the real plot kicks in throughout the second act, I was hoping for a much more clever finale. Sadly, the third act of this movie is simply whether or not our heroes will be successful in beating this team. While the game itself and characters involved are all likable elements, I just found myself slightly uninterested. Still, there's a lot more to like than dislike here.In the end, Early Man tries very hard to be multiple things. A spoof of the tales of the stone age, a children's generic and safe storyline, and almost a political statement at the same time. While all of these elements work, I found them to be an odd mixture for this movie. Early Man is a film that I highly enjoyed from start to finish, but the overly simplistic story took away from what could've been a great film. The setting, animation, jokes, and characters all drove this movie in the right direction, but that's not quite enough when you know where everything is headed all the time. Early Man may be aimed at kids, but there's a little something in here for everyone. Disappointing for a fan like myself, but still a solid movie.
Michael Ledo The film combines a ton of historical misinformation to create a soccer match of Stone Age men vs Bronze Age men with both French and English accents. The stop motion left a lot to be desired in an era of 3D graphics. Most of the jokes fell flat. Not a totally bad film, but not one I would spend my money on.