REVIEW: Ice Age 4: Continental Drift
94 minutes. Rating: General. Directors: Steve Martino, Mike Thurmeier.
Jody Houton
Friday 20 July 2012, 05:02PM
The unlikely trio of Sid the sloth, Diego the sabre-tooth tiger, and Manny the mammoth return in the fourth installment of the Ice Age franchise, which sees the boys take to the high seas, to rescue their entire continent, no less.
Using a floating iceberg as a make-shift ship they set out to explore new lands. And what has brought about this brave new world?
Well, it’s Scrat of course. The little rodent has finally succeeded in his pursuit of the acorn, unfortunately at the expense of the world as Sid, Diego and Manny know it.
The movie takes place 16 animal years after the third installment, and follows the exploits of the teenage daughter of Manny and his wife Ellie, cute ‘little’ Peaches. As all teenage daughters tend to, she develops a crush on the wrong animal which leads to a ‘mammoth’ falling out with her father.
Following the argument, the continent physically splits and separates Manny from his family. So Manny must embark on a journey to not only reunite his family but life as he knows it.
Ice Age 4 has moments of charm and witty slapstick, but it often seems content to recycle ideas from the previous films, a criticism that can be levelled at many sequels these days to be fair.
Hip-hop stars Nicki Minaj and Drake also join the team of voice actors.
In sum, it’s an entertaining way to spend a few hours on a rainy day if you’re caught out nearby Jungceylon or Central Festival, but it will probably look better on your high definition TV.
2.5 stars.
