Movie Review: Rio

So, the movie did its very best to keep my attention and succeeded to a much higher degree than I expected. Yes, this was not the best animation I have seen EVER, but it managed to stand on its own. It was well produced and very entertaining, to say the least.

Visually, the film was obviously stunning. The colors were vibrant, I found the animation to be really crisp and had a certain vivid visual style and some character designs actually reminded me of Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. No, this was not, in any way, a breakthrough or a technical milestone, but I think it's just as good as the standard animated films released recently.

The voice cast was also a high point for the movie. I thought Jesse Eisenberg gave the lead character that effortless nerdy vibe. I know it's his usual tone, but the dynamics in his voice added variety to the character. Anne Hathaway, on the other hand, was feisty and that made her character compelling. Of course, the supporting voice casts also delivered great performances, but I thought Will.I.Am and Jamie Foxx - though a bit too much at times - had the perfect comic timing playing off two sort of sidekicks.

Now, the problem I had with the film was that everything was so common - almost a cliche of cliches. The story was too predictable, the ending felt rushed, the musical performances were corny, it had a cliche villains and often hilarious but an unoriginal humor. Don't get me wrong, I have no problems with a formulaic flicks because if done right it can easily lead to an enjoyable film. However, for a genre that had set the bar ridiculously high with films like How To Train Your Dragon, Toy Story 3, and the likes, I'm not so sure if it can even be at par. 

Frankly, this animated film wasn't perfect. Yet despite its shortcomings, it was still vastly entertaining and that's actually all you need. Never a dull moment. I recommend this to anyone who wants some light-hearted entertainment.