Movie: Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip
Direction: Walt Becker
Cast: Jason Lee, Tony Hale, Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, Jesse McCartney, Kaley Cuoco, Anna Faris, Christina Applegate
Music: Mark Mothersbaugh
Cinematographer: Peter Lyons Collister
Editor: Ryan Folsey
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
Rating: ∗∗½
What is it about: It’s a fantasy comedy where 3 talking chipmunks are taken care by Dave (Jason Lee). And one day these little chipmunks get threatened by the idea of Dave getting married, which might result in abandoning the chipmunks. Due to this fear the chipmunks plot a trip to stop this engagement on a road trip with their to-be step brother Miles (Josh Green). This forms the crux of the story directed by Walt Becker.
Why it’s disappointing: As far as this series is concerned the story really fails to impress as it will be a very clichéd or a stale one which we have watched over the years in many rom-com’s. It does repeat with this and director Walt Becker didn’t ponder much in making it an interesting one. The films doesn’t have a solid narration and fails to get your attention. The entire film banks on the 3 little chipmunks.
What to watch out for: One consoling part of this sequel was the comedy which was well balanced with the ill scripted screenplay. The 3 little Chipmunks make a strong case in holding you for 93 minutes of the runtime. If not for them it would have been a stale ride on the road trip. The credit goes the VFX artists and the dialogue writers of the film. The performances by the rest of the cast is very average nothing great. The cinematography and editing was quite sharp keep it crisp and racy. The music and the background score by Mark Mothersbaugh did really add more spice to the movie.
Verdict: Walt Becker gave the movie in the hands of VFX artists and forgot about improving the quality on story telling. Even though this one was better than its prior sequels, still can’t recommend for a good watch. Except if you like the Chipmunks.
