OTHER RELEASES STARDOG AND TURBOCAT (U)
★★★★★ FIFTY years after he blasted into space on a Nasa mission, dog Buddy (voiced by Nick Frost), pictured, thaws out in the town of Glenfield, where homeless creatures are ruthlessly hunted by police officer Peck (Cory English). The confused pooch pleads with sardonic cat Felix (Luke Evans), who leads a double life as a caped crusader, to help him locate his space capsule.
“TurboCat works alone, dog breath!” hisses Felix, conveniently ignoring his omnipresent robot companion Sinclair (Bill Nighy).
Buddy’s hunt for clues leads to the headquarters of the Glenville Underground Animal Rights Division (Guard) run by liberated magician’s bunny Cassidy (Gemma Arterton).
She suspects the capsule’s hyperlithium power source could protect the town’s animals and rallies her troops including cat Todd (Robert G Slade), goldfish Bullion (Ben Bailey Smith) and mouse Tinker (Rachel Louise Miller).
Written and directed by Ben Smith, StarDog And TurboCat is a misfiring computer-animated caper aimed at very young viewers. The film cross-breeds elements of Superman, Batman and The Secret Life Of Pets in a barking-mad battle for survival.
Animation quality pales next to the polished output of Pixar, Disney and DreamWorks and pacing careens from sluggish to breathless.
“I learnt the hard way, there’s no such thing as magic,” laments Cassidy during one heart-to-heart.
Spend 90 minutes in the company of Smith’s film and you might think the rabbit has a point.
■ Download/stream from March 23 and available from March 30 on DVD/Blu-ray.
ESCAPE FROM PRETORIA (12A)
★★★★★ DANIEL RADCLIFFE (right) attempts a long walk to freedom in this deft and tense thriller based on a real-life prison escape during the barbaric regime of apartheid South Africa in the 1970s.
The Harry Potter star has been in the public eye so long it’s remarkable to think he’s still only 30 years old, and is well cast as a committed young political idealist.
As the bearded and bespectacled Tim Jenkin, he’s viewed as a traitor to his country and race, described as “the white Mandela” due to his opposition to the government.
Serving a 12-year stretch for activism and regarding himself a prisoner of war, he’s out of his depth in the harsh prison regime but draws on unexpected reserves of ingenuity and bravery.
Though this lacks the swaggering epic action of classic The Great Escape, or the macho sweaty grit of Clint Eastwood’s Escape From Alcatraz, it’s well-crafted, nicely performed and very strong on the mechanics of the escape and the inventive use of the basic materials the prisoners have access to. ■ Available on Sky Store now.
■ Review by Christopher Hunneysett