Ice Age well 'thawed' out comedy

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

Certification: PG

Cast: Ray Romano,

Denis Leary, John

Luguizamo,

Queen Latifah, Sean William

Scott, Simon Pegg, Josh Peck,

Chris Wedge

Director: Carlos Saldanha,

Mike Thurmeier

Genre: Adventure, Comedy

BOTH Ice Age and Ice Age: The Meltdown were released in March in 2002 and 2006, respectively. But for Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, distributor Fox took a risk by releasing it in the middle of the summer blockbusters.

However, already on the third instalment and with a strong following for its lovable characters, there isn't cause for worry that the movie will not pull in the numbers.

Especially when Dawn of the Dinosaurs could be the most entertaining of the three.

Manny the mammoth (Ray Romano) this time is busy getting ready to be the best parent for his unborn "calf" with Ellie (Queen Latifah).

He has fixed up a gorgeous playground and even goes as far as to "baby-proof nature" around the area.

Feeling left out are Diego the sabre-toothed tiger (Denis Leary) and Sid the sloth (John Luguizamo).

Diego wants to leave their herd because he feels he is getting old and losing his edge, no longer able to protect them as well as before; while Sid begins to wish (a little too desperately) for a family of his own.

Sid adopts three abandoned eggs he found in a cave. Little does he know, the eggs belonged to a Tyrannosaurus rex.

So when "Mommy Rex" comes to retrieve her babies, she takes Sid against his will to where she came from. The rest of the herd, including possums Crash (Sean William Scott) and Eddie (Josh Peck), sets off on a rescue mission and ventures into the depths of the underground cave. Coming out of the tunnel, they discover a land that's still green and filled with dinosaurs thought to be extinct. They meet a one-eyed weasel named Buck (Simon Pegg) who has lived there for a long time and learned the skills to survive.

Buck then becomes the herd's guide and protector, and together they risk their lives deeper into the land of the dinosaurs just to save Sid. They come to learn that the biggest and scariest of them all is actually not the T-Rex.

The CGI this time round is superior to the previous Ice Age. But this movie has it all, from comedy to romance to high-flying action; and they all come in a well-balanced storytelling.

The writers did a fine job creating the swashbuckling character of Buck, who entertains to no end but does not steal the limelight.

His ongoing life-or-death struggle with his albino archenemy has made him a little loony. So when he starts using a piece of rock as a telephone, not only is he funny but he brings out the comedic side from the rest of the characters.

Having Pegg voice this role is perfect. The action in this instalment is spectacular, from combat on land to high-speed chases in the air. The climax culminates with a daring rescue attempt aboard a pterodactyl with other flyers in hot pursuit. This scene even rivals the best action movies this summer.

Director Carlos Saldanha is back for seconds from The Meltdown and this time has animator Mike Thurmeier as co-director.

Together they have created beautiful and breathtaking animated landscapes, especially when the herd first steps into dino-land that harks back to The Land Before Time.

This latest instalment of Ice Age shows that even with bigger characters and bigger action, if done properly, it can be a better movie.

Reviewer's Rating: 9 / 10

The Brunei Times