Having played practically the entirety
of the Ratchet & Clank series and become a fan of it, I was immediately on
board with the idea of a theatrical feature when it was announced a few years
back. I became more interested in the movie after learning that not only was
Insomniac Games, the creator and developer of the Ratchet & Clank series
heavily involved in the movie’s production, but also that Rainmaker
Entertainment was doing the animation (under their previous moniker, Mainframe,
they did the animation for the Beast Wars and Beast Machines portions of the
Transformers franchise, which were considered groundbreaking for their time and
the former of which won a Daytime Emmy). As the release date got closer, I even
replayed the original Ratchet & Clank game and spent a lot of time playing
the re-imagining of said game just to keep myself hyped for the movie. Having
seen the movie in 3D, though somewhat disappointingly in a largely empty
theater, I would say that the experience and hype were definitely worth it.
The plot of the movie is, of course,
similar to that of the recent game based on this movie (including the plot
twists aimed at Ratchet & Clank veterans), which is also based on the
original 2002 game, but it flows more like a movie rather than the movie’s plot
incorporated into gameplay. Plot elements from the original game are taken in
an interesting direction in the movie, with some plot points cut where necessary
to help the flow of the story. At the same time, it’s interesting how some gameplay
elements from the games are used in the movie, such as the ability to switch
between weapons on the fly (or Quick Select, as it’s called in the games) being
explained by a device that allows the user to teleport weapons to their hand
from an off-site storage locker. Like the re-imagined game, some retcons are
made that I think make for a better story, such as the integration of Dr.
Nefarious (Armin Shimerman) into the plot and Ratchet (James Arnold Taylor)
being a selfless nice guy from the get-go rather than starting off as being a
huge, selfish jerk to everyone around him. There are also some cleverly-inserted
in-jokes from within the series and to other PlayStation titles, including a
tease for the upcoming Sly Cooper movie.
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| In this continuity, Ratchet wants to join the Galactic Rangers. |
The movie is well-casted in the voice department,
with James Arnold Taylor (Ratchet), David Kaye (Clank), Jim Ward (Captain
Qwark), and Armin Shimerman (Dr. Nefarious) returning to voice their characters
from the games, as well as some actors you wouldn’t have expected to hear in
Ratchet & Clank, such as Paul Giamatti (Chairman Drek), John Goodman
(Grimroth), and Sylvester Stallone (Victor Von Ion); notably, Stallone’s
widely-mocked slurred Rambo voice is not present, rather sounding more like his
normal speaking voice. As I’ve said about the recent game, the voice actors are
definitely bringing their experience with their characters to the table, and
Giamatti and Stallone (for reals this time) provide interesting interpretations
of the returning characters that they voice. Though new character Grimroth
doesn’t get very much screentime, I still thought John Goodman did a good job
in voicing the character, particularly in portraying the character’s master/student
relationship with Ratchet.
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| Ratchet & Clank during their first meeting. |
The animation is, put simply, amazing,
as there was clearly a lot of care put into animating the characters and their
body language, as well as Ratchet’s Lombax tail. The animation of the weapons
and their abilities is also great at recreating how they function and making
them work within the context of the movie. Though the Groovitron, one of my
favorite weapons from the games, does not make an appearance, I think the movie
worked well enough without it. Also, the music, while not remixing anything
from the base game, is still great at capturing the essence of a given scene
and character’s emotions (though I can’t recall if any of it is from the
re-imagined game).
The Ratchet & Clank movie can be
considered a good way to get someone into the Ratchet & Clank franchise,
though it is clearly more aimed at Ratchet & Clank fans. There is some
fantastic humor in the movie, both meta and not meta, as well as some bits of older-skewing
humor that some audiences that fit within the PG rating would probably not get.
While it’s funny how text-messaging jokes are incorporated, there is mention of
“hashtags” at one point, though the reference is still funny within context
since it’s very brief and is more non-specific. Overall, the movie is a
well-made love letter to the 15 years of the Ratchet & Clank series and its
fans, for whom this is definitely a must-see, and I advise staying through the
credits. Since this joint-development between Insomniac and Rainmaker turned
out spectacularly, this makes me more excited to see if the same result can be
achieved with Sly Cooper when it makes its way to theaters.
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