Review: ‘Wreck-It Ralph’

Our resident reviewer Kate was joined by her son, Elias (8), for Wreck-It Ralph. As a result, we’re able bring you our very first mother & son review.

This is Elias’ second Admit One review – making him an official member of the crew. Thanks Elias. We love your work!

.

Here’s Kate’s review:

It’s a rare treat when a kids’ movie appeals as much to adults as to the audience it caters to. Wreck-It Ralph is one such film. Especially if you’re an adult who grew up playing now classic arcade games like Pac-Man and Street Fighter.

The premise is much like that of Pixar’sToy Story: after the kids have finished playing with them, the characters in video games have lives of their own – socialising with each other after the arcade lights go out. The film opens with our anti-hero, Ralph, in a support group for gaming bad guys. Ralph’s had enough of playing the villain in his retro game and dejectedly tells his tale of woe. He wants the rewards that usually accrue to the star in his game, Fix-it Felix Jr., instead of his regular accolade: a dunking in a muddy puddle from the top of a building. But his fellow gaming villains tells him he’s bad for a reason, and that to be good at being bad is good.

When he’s excluded from the Fix-It Felix Jr. 30th Anniversary party, Ralph gatecrashes and ruins the festivities. Dejected once again the people from his game tell Ralph that if he can win a medal for being a hero, he can live in the apartment building with them.

Determined Ralph heads out to find a game he can triumph in and begins an adventure that will bring him into contact with characters from wildly different games. There’s Calhoun, the tough military sergeant in a Halo-type siege game, and Vanellope, the pint-sized heroine of a game called Sugar Rush. But while Ralph helps Vanellope triumph over the evil Candy King, Fix-It Felix Jnr has nothing to fix without the mayhem Ralph usually causes… so he and the characters there are threatened with the ultimate punishment – being unplugged!

Wreck-It Ralph begins much more strongly than it ends, when it relies a little too heavily on overdone tropes. But there are some wonderful lines in this film, as well as some (for once) nifty product placement throughout the Sugar Rush game – a key plot element comes from the Mentos and diet Coke myth.

Special note goes to the visuals. The makers haven’t fallen into the trap of using 3D as a gimmick – throwing objects at the audience with abandon. Rather it’s used subtly to give depth and richness to images that are already gorgeous. The contrast between the flat on-screen world the characters live, and the one they enjoy when the arcade is closed is especially well done.

But what really drives the picture is the largeness of its heart. The relationship between Ralph and Vanellope is complex, dynamic and layered. And the film’s message – that whoever you are, be the best YOU you can be – is a reassuring one, even for villains.

Stay for the end credits – they’re almost worth the price of admission on their own.

7/10

 .

And from Elias:

Wreck it Ralph was a great film. It was funny, sad, and entertaining. The 3D wasn’t the best, but it worked.

It was about Ralph wanting a medal and getting in the Sugar Rush game. It is set in an arcade.

It was an amazing movie and it will make lots of money.

There were some really funny lines, like when the girl said,  “Why are your hands  so freakishly big?” and Ralph said, “Why are you so freakishly annoying?”

It is a really good movie.

10/10

 .

OVERALL SCORE:..8.5/10

 .