On general release from Fri 08 Feb
Rich Moore / USA / 2012 / 108 min
Ralph (John C Reilly) is a bad guy. He hasn’t chosen that, he’s just programmed that way. Calhoun (Jane Lynch) is a military hard-case ‘programmed with the most tragic backstory’. In this computer arcade, every character has a function they are programmed to live out and it’s this sideways jab at being trapped in the same job all your life that’s Wreck-It Ralph’s most cerebral element.
When Ralph breaks out of his own game and infiltrates others in an attempt to prove he might be a bad guy but he isn’t a bad person, he ends up unleashing a force that could destroy everything. He attempts to prove his worth in the hectic modern shooter Hero’s Duty, a spot-on pastiche of modern violent games like Gears of War, and there’s appeal in the idea of a violent villain from 30 years ago being the hero today.
Reilly is well cast as the oversized oafish Ralph, but without his imposing screen presence his voice lacks dynamism. Lynch is the highlight, offering a send-up of modern action game heroines who ends up transcending that stereotype by being both sympathetic and a genuine badass. The imagination and comedy of designing a world around video game characters is where the film finds most of its laughs, the alcoholics anonymous ‘Bad Guy’ meeting in the Pac-Man maze is a particular highlight. By contrast, the plot is predictable and the script is uninspiring. The teen audience who will enjoy the game references will be bored by the plot and the younger kids to whom the plot appeals won’t get the references. But for parents/geeks this film isn’t without enjoyment.
Follow Steven on Twitter @StevenDinnie