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ICE AGE: CONTINENTAL DRIFTMovie Reviews
Animated family adventure about Manny, Diego and Sid as they try to care for their families after a massive earthquake caused by Scrat's pursuit of the cursed acorn. Cast:Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Queen Latifah, Peter Dinklage, Jennifer Lopez, Wanda Sykes, Keke PalmerDirector:Steve Martino, Michael ThurmeierRelease Date:July 13, 2012DVD Release:December 11, 2012From:20th Century FoxRating:PGLength:1 hr. 34 min.
Ice Age: Continental Drift played to moderate reviews. • James Berardinelli wrote for Reel Views, "...as comfortable and predictable as any Saturday morning cartoon, although with higher production values and a spiffier look." • And Alynda Wheat wrote in People, "...fine but forgettable." More Reviews Below...
Alynda Wheat, People: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...fine but forgettable.... literally shakes things up, as hapless rodent Scrat (Chris Wedge) causes earthquakes that split Pangaea into the world we know today."(See all of Alynda Wheat's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 210 words, 07/12/12
Mary Pols, Time: WEAK "...the frenetic pace masks an emptiness; this 'Ice Age' is just a collection of slapstick moments and fisticuffs... The franchise is just going through the motions..."(See all of Mary Pols's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 834 words, 07/12/12
Jake Coyle, Associated Press: MODERATE(cg) "...overstuffed with loud action scenes and the yammer of celebrity voices.... The filmmakers stuff the film to a manic degree, albeit with increasingly textured animation."(See all of Jake Coyle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 698 words, 07/12/12
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: VERY GOOD(cg) "A mild bounce back from the dinosaur doldrums of the last 'Ice Age' movie.... the film keeps throwing things at you... That said, the laughs are starting to feel prehistoric."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 90 words, 07/13/12
Claudia Puig, USA Today: MODERATE(cg) "...aimless and derivative. While the first 'Ice Age' movie in 2002 was inventive and cute, there's far too little here that's fresh."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 357 words, 07/13/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: MODERATE(cg) "Watching this film was a cheerless exercise for me. The characters are manic and idiotic, the dialogue is rat-a-tat chatter, the action is entirely at the service of the 3-D..."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 541 words, 07/13/12
Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies: MODERATE(cg) "...fast-paced, if a little monotonously overdetermined, and extremely conventional, if a trifle provisional, in its message.... did satisfy my animation jones on a certain level."(See all of Glenn Kenny's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 596 words, 07/12/12
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (12 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: MODERATE "...warmed-over hash.... [but] 'Continental Drift' is much too friendly to dislike, and its vision of interspecies multiculturalism is generous and appealing."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 742 words, 07/13/12
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: WEAK(cg) "Noisy, crass and unabashedly formulaic.... The gags are creaky, the action uninspired and the story reminiscent of 'Happy Feet Two...' "(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 301 words, 07/13/12
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...an improvement over No. 3... somehow this strange collection of prehistoric critters and their completely illogical life are consistently likable, if not quite lovable."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 669 words, 07/13/12
Kyle Smith, New York Post: MODERATE(cg) "I checked my watch and the movie was still only 20 minutes old.... At best, the film serves up mild chuckles, with occasional cute jokes..."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 693 words, 07/13/12
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: MODERATE(cg) "I feel like digging out an old review of an earlier 'Ice Age' movie and 're-purposing' it.... It's not very funny, but your kids might like it. For the record."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 376 words, 07/13/12
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: MODERATE(cg) "...these movies bug me. Partly it's because they're so loud, incoherent and sloppily conceived that they make 'Scooby-Doo' seem like 'Great Expectations.' "(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 282 words, 07/13/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: MODERATE(cg) "Watching this film was a cheerless exercise for me. The characters are manic and idiotic, the dialogue is rat-a-tat chatter, the action is entirely at the service of the 3-D..."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 541 words, 07/13/12
Jonathan Kiefer, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "What keeps this improbably extinction-resistant series alive must be the Sisyphean tenacity of its mascot, the acorn-chasing prehistoric squirrel... dolefully funny..."(See all of Jonathan Kiefer's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 253 words, 07/11/12
Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: MODERATE(cg) "A typically frantic pace packs a lot into 87 minutes... [still,] how many times do they need to reassert the message that family comes first and friends are forever?"(See all of Linda Barnard's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 548 words, 07/13/12
Chris Berube, Toronto Globe & Mail: WEAK(cg) "Between monkey pirates, father-daughter drama and the tectonic shifts happening below, there isn't much room for the new characters here..."(See all of Chris Berube's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 520 words, 07/13/12
Radheyan Simonpillai, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "...the 'Ice Age' movies have exhausted their characters and whatever charms they had to offer, leaving the fourth instalment, 'Continental Drift,' scrambling for material..."(See all of Radheyan Simonpillai's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 203 words, 07/12/12
KEY CITIES (9 Reviews)
Sean O'Connell, Washington Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "...freshens up the 10-year-old franchise by shunning easy pop-culture jokes and embracing its weird side... energetic, inventive and frequently amusing."(See all of Sean O'Connell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 609 words, 07/13/12
Roger Moore, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...all sight gags and action beats, which tends to cover the shortcomings these assembly-line farces are infamous for."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 440 words, 07/13/12
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Nothing new under the prehistoric sun here, really -- the same guys having another adventure.... It's all well done and cute and forgettable."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 558 words, 07/13/12
Tom Russo, Boston Globe: MODERATE(cg) "When Manny and pals finally head off in a chiseled-glacier getaway ship it feels less like they're escaping the bad guys than a bad middle act."(See all of Tom Russo's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 439 words, 07/13/12
Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: MODERATE(cg) "...the franchise has fallen into the category of dull but safe time-wasters... about as surprising and unpredictable as a glacier. And not much more fun."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 386 words, 07/13/12
Soren Andersen, Seattle Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "3-D. Nothing new. Hollywood's latest gimmick.... but the people who made 'Ice Age: Continental Drift' went prehistoric-warthog wild with it. It's like: Kid, meet candy store."(See all of Soren Andersen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 378 words, 07/13/12
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: WEAK(cg) "...unfunny... the 'Ice Age' franchise has skidded so far into kiddie land that adults who tread there risk extinction... the lowest level of baby-sitter cinema."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 349 words, 07/13/12
Steve Persall, Tampa Bay Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "Sid's hyperactive shenanigans get the most laughs and Scrat continues his scrambling quest for acorns... Manny's issues play as interesting as Romano sounds."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 452 words, 07/12/12
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (11 Reviews)
Jonathan Kiefer, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "What keeps this improbably extinction-resistant series alive must be the Sisyphean tenacity of its mascot, the acorn-chasing prehistoric squirrel... dolefully funny..."(See all of Jonathan Kiefer's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 253 words, 07/11/12
Brett Michel, Boston Phoenix: MODERATE(cg) "Fans of the decade-old series will recognize the opening moments of this fourth feature installment as recycled. It's still funny, but you've seen it all before."(See all of Brett Michel's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 148 words, 07/12/12
Sam Adams, AV Club: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...feels less like an extension of a theatrical franchise than an episode of a middling TV cartoon, lolling around on territory that's already been settled."(See all of Sam Adams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 357 words, 07/12/12
Cynthia Fuchs, Pop Matters: POOR(cg) "...well worn formula... By the time these storylines come together, you may be wishing the continents had just drifted right over them."(See all of Cynthia Fuchs's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 857 words, 07/13/12
Radheyan Simonpillai, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "...the 'Ice Age' movies have exhausted their characters and whatever charms they had to offer, leaving the fourth instalment, 'Continental Drift,' scrambling for material..."(See all of Radheyan Simonpillai's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 203 words, 07/12/12
Curt Holman, Atlanta Creative Loafing: WEAK(cg) "...the big finale, with frantic action scenes and lousy lines, represents the 'Ice Age' films at their worst... the saving grace remains Scrat's consistently funny slapstick..."(See all of Curt Holman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 647 words, 07/13/12
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher: POOR(cg) "...a perfect storm of awful.... Cheap and cheaty, plus preposterous in all ways -- narratively, thematically, mythologically, geologically, emotionally..."(See all of MaryAnn Johanson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 698 words, 07/09/12
HIGHBROW PRESS (2 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: MODERATE "...warmed-over hash.... [but] 'Continental Drift' is much too friendly to dislike, and its vision of interspecies multiculturalism is generous and appealing."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 742 words, 07/13/12
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...an improvement over No. 3... somehow this strange collection of prehistoric critters and their completely illogical life are consistently likable, if not quite lovable."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 669 words, 07/13/12
MOVIE INDUSTRY (4 Reviews)
Peter Debruge, Daily Variety: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...nothing new or memorable.... Steve Martino and Michael Thurmeier keep things moving by punctuating the episodic plot with a song or some funnier-than-usual comic relief."(See all of Peter Debruge's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 684 words, 06/28/12
Megan Lehmann, Hollywood Reporter: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "It's familiar, drawn-out shtick, and the humor lacks the subtlety of the first and best 'Ice Age', but there are some visually inventive high points."(See all of Megan Lehmann's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 560 words, 06/25/12
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...an improvement over No. 3... somehow this strange collection of prehistoric critters and their completely illogical life are consistently likable, if not quite lovable."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 669 words, 07/13/12
A.O. Scott, New York Times: MODERATE "...warmed-over hash.... [but] 'Continental Drift' is much too friendly to dislike, and its vision of interspecies multiculturalism is generous and appealing."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 742 words, 07/13/12
15.1 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Ice Age: Continental Drift's reviews are separated by an average 15.1 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Ice Age: Continental Drift (38 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Ice Age: Continental Drift's reviews cover 71.6% of potential readers (average is 68.0%). Volume:The film's reviews total 18,682 words involume (average is 20,221 words). Length:The film's reviews average 492 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 18.9 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.3 Release)
Ice Age: Continental Drift's reviews on average broke 18.9 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.3 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Ice Age: Continental Drift's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Ice Age: Continental Drift (38 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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