Movie Review: Early Man

As a lifelong fan of the wonderful claymation of Aardman Studios, I was excited to watch this 2018 movie directed by the brains behind Wallace and Gromit, Nick Park.

Set in prehistoric times, the movie follows a tribe of simple, warm-hearted Stone Age cavemen and their battle against the smug Bronze Age people.

With a short, snappy Three Stooges style of humour, Early Man is more of a gags-that-make-you-smirk kind of film than an out loud belly-laughing movie.

Voiced by a talented cast including Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hiddleston, and Maisie Williams; although the characters include an eccentric range of likeable people (plus one pig, one rabbit, and a duck cameo) unfortunately they tend to fall into stereotypes.

In fact, the movie although quite entertaining has one major flaw – and that’s it’s predictability. Once the plot gets going, there’s never any really doubt on what’s going to happen.

However the stunning visuals and great performances balance out the plot’s shortcomings – and moments where it bogs down pass quickly.

I recommend this movie as a Sunday afternoon family flick for when you want to kick back and enjoy some light-hearted humour without too much brain power involved.