A review by Brenda Daniels
I loved Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 1. The nerdy, fallible hero, Flint, was likeable, and an invention that caused food to rain from the sky was fun and different. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (3D), however, doesn’t maintain the momentum of the first film and I left the theatre feeling a little disappointed.
In this sequel Flint’s old food machine has begun producing rogue foods that are threatening mankind. Called in by his hero, Chester V of The Live Corp Company, Flint is tasked with finding his machine and shutting it down. The food mutants are creatively portrayed – lettuce-spraying tacos and eight-legged, cheese-spinning burgers are great to watch. Even the little innocuous-looking strawberries have character and spunk and young children will love this imaginative aspect. Flint’s friends and his mono-browed father play a big role in this film too, almost outshining the protagonist in fact, and Flint’s attitude towards them forms the moral of the story.
Although full of action, the movie doesn’t reach much of a climax, and in parts is a little boring. A few funny lines, while appealing to little ones, aren’t very memorable or clever and tend to be repetitive. And what really put me off was the obvious likeness to other films, from James Bond to the Matrix, Madagascar to The Lion King and Avatar.
Although not engaging for parents, the film is clean and will prove entertaining for their young children. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 opens at Ster Kinekor Theatres in South Africa on Friday 31 January. It carries an age restriction of PG.
a feast of tales 