This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Hollywood's spectacularly awful track record with video games remains intact with "Ratchet & Clank," a computer-animated space adventure that constantly elbows the audience in the ribs with its forced humor.
Ratchet (voiced by James Arnold Taylor) is a Lombax (sort of a big-eared fox) who's a hotshot mechanic and has dreams of joining the Galactic Rangers, who keep peace in the Solana Galaxy. The Rangers are busy with a new threat, the Blarg, and their corporate boss, Chairman Drek (voiced by Paul Giamatti), who is destroying planets to collect pieces for his personal superplanet.
Ratchet joins the Rangers, but soon learns that his hero, Capt. Qwark (voiced by Jim Ward), isn't as heroic as he thought. Along the way, Ratchet teams up with Clank (voiced by David Kaye), a robot who escaped from Drek's mad scientist, Dr. Nefarious (voiced by Armin Shimerman).
The tag-team script moves robotically through a dim and formulaic story, haphazardly paced and peppered with lame jokes that fizzle on contact. The filmmakers make an effort to relate the movie to the original game, such as bringing in the original voice actors Taylor and Kane, but only hardcore gamers will care.
'Ratchet & Clank'
Opens Friday, April 29, at theaters everywhere; rated PG for action and some rude humor; 94 minutes.