There is evil in our world. That's a basic, yet sad, fact of life. This movie attempts to circumvent that truth by claiming that, "there are no good or bad guys, only people." That, in itself, makes this movie a bit more derisive than it should be. Oh, yes, Will Smith is fantastic as Lance Sterling, and Tom Holland portrays the awkward nerd Walter in a terrific manner. It reminded me a whole lot of his role as Spider-Man in Far From Home.
There are a lot of hilarious moments in this film. For instance, the entire scene in Mexico where Lance, as a pigeon, meets up with other pigeons who then attempt to initiate him into their group is a complete and utter riot. It's uproarious, to say the least. I also enjoyed how they did not create voices for the other birds, but rather, created characters that could be portrayed with subtle movements and simple cooing. You can tell that one of them is insane, one is dumber than a box of rocks, and the third is supposed to be some kind of attractive female pigeon.
The movie also touches on a lot of spying tropes and turns them inside out in order to create an atmosphere where a pigeon could engage in espionage. It also takes the time to focus on the bird's weak points and how that would be a hindrance to the task at hand. For instance, when Lance tries to take down a Japanese arms dealer, he fails miserably because his wings aren't as strong as his arms and hands used to be. It's an intensely clever premise, and the movie delivers a lot of action among the comedy.
The problem, again, is the message, which is horrendously stupid. The idea that just speaking with an internationally known thief and battling him with cute images of puppy dogs and kitty cats is asinine on the greatest of levels. While I appreciate the movie's efforts to advocate for humans to tone down the violence and be nicer to each other, there are times when you have to, as the movie itself puts it, "fight fire with fire."
So, overall, this was a very well written, well animated feature. Blue Sky never scrimps on animation, and it definitely shows here. The overarching problem with the movie is its ridiculous message that there are no evil people in the world, just misunderstood individuals.
There are a lot of hilarious moments in this film. For instance, the entire scene in Mexico where Lance, as a pigeon, meets up with other pigeons who then attempt to initiate him into their group is a complete and utter riot. It's uproarious, to say the least. I also enjoyed how they did not create voices for the other birds, but rather, created characters that could be portrayed with subtle movements and simple cooing. You can tell that one of them is insane, one is dumber than a box of rocks, and the third is supposed to be some kind of attractive female pigeon.
The movie also touches on a lot of spying tropes and turns them inside out in order to create an atmosphere where a pigeon could engage in espionage. It also takes the time to focus on the bird's weak points and how that would be a hindrance to the task at hand. For instance, when Lance tries to take down a Japanese arms dealer, he fails miserably because his wings aren't as strong as his arms and hands used to be. It's an intensely clever premise, and the movie delivers a lot of action among the comedy.
The problem, again, is the message, which is horrendously stupid. The idea that just speaking with an internationally known thief and battling him with cute images of puppy dogs and kitty cats is asinine on the greatest of levels. While I appreciate the movie's efforts to advocate for humans to tone down the violence and be nicer to each other, there are times when you have to, as the movie itself puts it, "fight fire with fire."
So, overall, this was a very well written, well animated feature. Blue Sky never scrimps on animation, and it definitely shows here. The overarching problem with the movie is its ridiculous message that there are no evil people in the world, just misunderstood individuals.