When the world's best spy is turned into a pigeon, he must rely on his nerdy tech officer to save the world.
No matter how mediocre his filmography seems to be these days, it remains a cold hard fact that Will Smith is still one hell of a drawcard. When I heard the voice cast included Tom Holland and Will Smith in the lead roles, I can honestly say it wasn't Spider-Man that sold it to me, it was Men in Blacks' Agent J, and boy does he have a voice that is perfect for animated films.
The premise is nothing new. Based on the animated short Pigeon Impossible, somewhere along the lines of making this into a feature film script, when it came to choosing personalities for the characters, the scriptwriters clearly phoned it in and made heavy use of "inspiration" from the likes of Disney's The Emperor's New Groove, and the team-up capabilities from videogames such as Jak and Daxter or Ratchet and Clank. The similarities are quite clear, and it forms an air of familiarity around the flick, which is unfortunate given the potential that the film has.
Because the animation is quite well done. The lighting and textures are well executed and the overall character designs (while some seem a little bit repetitive) are out of proportion enough that it will no doubt keep the little ones entertained. The voice casting works out quite well, with Will Smith absolutely smashing the role with that super charismatic voice of his. Tom Holland is far less convincing, but it works well considering the personality traits of his character (it just doesn't make him all that memorable).
What is unfortunately missing, is a strong script and character development. Will Smith's character does get a simplistic arc, but Holland's character is much flatter, and the villain is underutilized. The villainous plot suffices, but it could have quite easily have created a much stronger and cohesive story if the screenplay had delved into that side of the story more because it fits in nicely with the contrasting belief systems that our main characters have.
It is the main source of conflict in the film; that sense of efficient violence vs playful pacifism. It links with all of the main characters and the villain but is only slapped on top of a weak action script. Everything that could have created a really strong story, instead, was only used to try and plug plot holes in a series of well-animated action sequences. If we learned anything from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, it's that cool moments don't equate to a great story on their own.
The contrast in personalities between Smith and Holland's characters is the aspect that holds the film together, and the evolution of that relationship is the source of most comedy and emotion. There is something inherently enjoyable about watching the tall poppy getting chopped down and learning humility, as well as watching the down-trodden lackey getting an opportunity to shine. It is the ideal buddy cop film.
Overall, will the adults enjoy it? It's harmless enough and is certainly capable of getting a few laughs from adults. There is a good balance of conflict and time pressures, which keeps the pace of the film high for near enough the entirety of the flick once it finishes the set-up in the first act. The real question is, will the kids enjoy it? I think they will. Character designs are wacky enough, and the action scenes are flashy enough, that this tale of spies and espionage will keep them very well entertained.
It's by-the-books and forgettable, but it has a nice message and will keep the kids quiet for a while. What's the worst that could happen.