Ice Age: Collision Course

It is almost surprising that an ever-expanding group of heroes still maintains the level of humor where they can laugh freely for an hour and a half without inhibition. The reasons why I used to defend the first three parts at any occasion have significantly decreased. The previous installment with its pirate-family theme clearly deviated from the series, and this time, the uniqueness of the whole Ice Age franchise has almost completely disappeared. Collision Course is nothing more than a replaceable family comedy full of obligatory clichés, and in terms of adventure, it is already a somewhat overused variation of a journey for the salvation of everything and everyone. I am saddened by this similar direction, and I will continue to shake my head for a long time, wondering why it couldn't have stayed just a trilogy, but the tremendously positive atmosphere in all of the squirrel's escapades still makes me cautiously nod upward. (12/27/2017)

The new Ice Age, according to many expectations, is already a bit of a rip-off of its predecessors, but it's not surprising considering that this is the fifth film featuring the old gang. What bothered me the most was the overly obvious overcomplication of the story around Scrat (the idea of a flying saucer is beyond my comprehension after all) and the main characters, who dealt with rather bland and already seen many times problems (getting married, moving away from parents, finding a partner, etc.) that I would look for in human characters. Yet I still laughed out loud a couple of times, especially at the lines of the old lazy grandmother. Unfortunately, the charm, wit and originality of the first (and mostly the third) episode has worn off, so they should rather go in a different direction. In short, a sequel that, although it doesn't offend and isn't downright bad, doesn't bring anything new and is most notable for its mediocrity and predictability. (07/12/2016)

If the fourth part had a dodgy plot, this is something else – have they really lost all judgement at Fox? I've more or less liked all the previous episodes, if only for the heaps of likeable and funny characters, but in this case every element is unbelievably sloppy and bland – from the crazy story that even a five-year-old kid won’t laugh at, to the individual gags that fade away at the expense of pathetic family chatter. Perhaps the only things worth mentioning are a few one-liners from a vigorous granny, the imminent return of Buck, and Scrat's struggle with amplified gravity, during which I couldn’t help but chuckle out loud. They say less is sometimes more, but with this series, the most would be nothing. 40% (05/02/2017)

This time, it's really nothing more than a serial marketing product designed to sell toys and popcorn, the theme of which is already picked raw to the bone and whose creators have no ambition to say anything meaningful, and so they invent nonsense like UFOs and crystals of eternal youth. The continuing declining tendency of quality is also characterized by the fact that, for the first time in the series, this work cannot succeed even as a demented grotesque, in which the characters bury, snag and hit themselves in the head. And due to the extreme proliferation of protagonists (at least a dozen), the usual lessons about the values of friendship, family and relationships, which sound even more false, are diluted. (07/19/2016)

There's competition among cartoons this year where just having a bunch of funny characters definitely won't keep you in the game. It takes a story. Preferably one that will entertain kids and adults in roughly equal proportions. It must be all the better when it features the same characters for the umpteenth time. While it's true that the filmmakers still have some pretty cool ideas for torturing a squirrel chasing his dream nut, isn't it getting a little stale? It's going to need some kind of fresh air, at the very least. Otherwise, the animation is great, although that's become almost commonplace in recent years. 3 stars. (07/24/2016)