Early Man (2018)

Since I enjoyed all three Aardman Animations films I've seen, I was expecting Early Man to be a pretty good film. Unfortunately, it didn't meet my expectations. And by far. 

In Stone Age Manchester, a small tribe of cavemen live peacefully in a small valley. One day, their valley is invaded by the evil Lord Nooth (voiced by Tom Hiddleston) who wants to finish off the Stone Age and move to the Bronze Age. One young caveman, Dug (voiced by Eddie Redmayne), challenges Nooth's football (soccer if you're American) team to win the valley back.

Early Man's is an unoriginal story filled with clichés and ridiculously predictable plot points, so predictable that even a kid would be able to predict how the story is going to unfold. Moreover, it is rather boring and unengaging, surprisingly boring and unengaging I'd add as I am a huge football/soccer fan and would never find football boring. 

The characters are just as poor as the plot. While Dug is quite likeable which really surprised me considering Eddie Redmayne voiced him (no, I don't like him), and Hobnob, Dug's pet sidekick, is adorable and kinda funny, they are pretty forgettable. Not to mention the fact that they all are stereotypes, and the only reason Lord Nooth is a decent, kind of menacing villain is because of Tom Hiddleston and his brilliant voice work. 

StudioCanal

As for the humour, Aardman Animations usually does well with it. Not this time though. Partly because the film lacks the energetic pace of the other films, partly because the delivery of the humour isn't as good, but the thing is that Early Man is funny only occasionally. There are some funny and enjoyable jokes and gags, but overall the humour falls flat. 

At last, there is the animation. Aardman Animations' claymation is still on point and it is as charming as it's always been. The film indeed looks very beautiful, with its very identifiable characters and nice sets. It's a real shame they paired such a good animation with such a poor script.