A decorated British actress becomes an action star, an animated rabbit-fox duo returns after eight years, and an Australian actor channels Terrence Malick’s contemplative style.
ZOOTOPIA 2 (PG)
Directors: Jared Bush, Byron Howard
Starring: The voices of Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba.
***1/2
A rabbit and a fox having the crime of their lives
It is hard to understand why Disney’s animation division dithered for the best part of ten years before getting around to a Zootopia sequel.
The 2016 original was one of the standout cartooning experiences of the previous decade, racking up a stack of awards (including that year’s Best Animated Film Oscar) and a monster global box-office gross of over $1.5 billion.
Without being too hard on Zootopia 2, it is fair to say that this much-anticipated sequel won’t be hitting the same lofty heights scaled by its predecessor.
While this frenetic follow-up is consistently very good in almost all departments, it cannot be denied that the prevailing vibe here is more disposable than memorable.
The new movie picks up exactly where the first one left off, with the indomitable rabbit Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) – the first bunny cop in Zootopia City’s history – having forged a cleverly crazed crime-fighting alliance with smart-aleck ‘street fox’ Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman).
The pair immediately have problems sticking to Zootopia Police Force rules. So much so, in fact, that their gruff boss-buffalo Chief Bogo (Idris Elba) sidelines the overenthusiastic Judy and Nick from active duty.
Nevertheless, the duo’s knacks for finding, causing and investigating trouble in the Zootopia underworld cannot be suppressed for long.
Soon enough Judy and Nick have stumbled upon an age-old conspiracy that a corrupt Zootopia elite is determined to keep place. Those who hold the reins of power in Zootopia have seen to it that reptiles of all kinds are the only species in nature who are prohibited from living in the idyllic metropolis.
Incensed by the unfairness of this secret prejudice, Judy and Nick go rogue and get busy fighting on the side of the reptile resistance.
As was the case with the first movie, the vocal chemistry between Goodwin and Bateman as Judy and Nick is impeccable in terms of both timing and delivery. Their rabbit-fox repartee remains one of animation’s great double acts.
However, there are stretches in Zootopia 2 where the filmmakers overdo a reliance on madcap chase sequences and screechy support characters, to the extent where the story can become almost forgotten entirely.
Technically, the production is brilliantly designed and animated, particularly within a set of sequences where we get to explore the wacky wetlands where the reptiles have been unjustly exiled.
Zootopia 2 is now showing in general release.
DEAD OF WINTER (MA15+)
***1/2
Selected cinemas.
Now here is a late-breaking development no-one could possibly have seen coming: Emma Thompson, action hero.
Taking a leaf from her old pal Liam Neeson’s playbook, Thompson anchors this bare-bones thriller with a steely determination and physical panache that never once wavers.
Thompson stars as Barb, a lonely widow in rural Minnesota (the same region featured in the movie version of Fargo) who treks to a frozen lake to scatter her dearly departed husband’s ashes.
A chance stop along the way to ask for directions sees Barb stumble upon a dangerous abduction situation already well underway.
A teenage girl, Leah (Laurel Marsden), is being held hostage by a deranged marriage couple (Judy Greer and Marc Menchaca) who are heavily armed and not particularly fond of nosy strangers.
The battle of wills that ensues between Barb and the baddies is grippingly staged amid a forbidding setting where minor fluctuations in the weather will have a major say in who will ultimately win.
Thompson’s gritty effort goes far beyond what anyone might have assumed this decorated performer is capable of, and is reason enough for all viewers to stick around for one heck of a final act.
TRAIN DREAMS (M)
****
Now streaming on Netflix
A beautiful, lyrical meditation on the simple, lasting power that can be drawn from choosing to go with life’s flow.
Australian actor Joel Edgerton is being mentioned in all the right places as a contender for a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his impressive work here.
He plays Robert Granier, a quiet man of the land who takes whatever work he can find to build a future for his devoted wife Gladys (Felicity Jones) in the first half of last century.
A torrid spell spent working on the railroads as a younger man continues to haunt Granier in his later years, but never at the expense of his ever-expanding affinity for nature and a unshakeable desire with live with true honour, grace and empathy.
The achingly slow pacing and deeply contemplative tone of this movie – reminiscent in many ways of the work of director Terrence Malick (Badlands, Tree of Life) – will not accommodate all tastes or attention spans. However, those who find themselves connecting with Edgerton’s poised and insightful work will reap a vast array of rewards. Co-stars William H. Macy.
