“Dolittle,” not to be mistaken with the movie “Dr. Dolittle,” starring Eddie Murphy, isn’t the typical movie you’d expect so many high-profile celebrities to be a part of.
Starring Robert Downey Jr. and featuring the voices of others such as Tom Holland, Selena Gomez, Rami Malek and John Cena, one would expect the movie to have some notable traits. It, however, doesn’t.
The acting, for example, was sub par, even Robert Downey Jr.’s performance was, frankly, underwhelming and his feeble attempt at what was, maybe, a British accent was, at times, cringe worthy. It’s upsetting to see such a renowned actor take on such an awful role. Furthermore, Downey’s co-stars, talking animals aside, consists mainly of two new, young actors whose okay acting could be chalked up to their relatively little experience in cinema.
Unfortunately, the basic plot of the film seems to have been hastily put together by its writers, as it holds no real or memorable substance, adding little to the movie as a whole. The characters themselves have no depth, even for a film clearly made for younger audiences. The accompanying over the top acting from the cast members, too, seems to be made to entertain kids but feels forced and awkward, making the film difficult to watch.
At times the editing during the movie seems off as well. In scenes that are CGI heavy, it’s clear that what is going on has been artificially made. The movements of the characters in the scenes seem unnatural, an unfortunate thing to view in an era so technologically advanced where audiences have seen time and time again how well CGI-heavy films can be edited.
The movie’s saving grace are the jokes that are riddled with Gen-Z humor. Like most children movies, the jokes might not necessarily be understood by younger audiences, but hit their mark, nonetheless. In a dialogue between two of the animals, they bond over their shared childhood trauma, something teens have often joked about that might not necessarily be understood by, say, a toddler.
Overall, “Dolittle” fades into the background as another unimaginative revamp for a film that has already been made. Despite containing a different plot from the well-known “Dr. Dolittle,” the movie’s lack of imagination makes it unremarkable. If anything, it could be made into a great movie if watched sheerly to make a joke of it.
6/10
Tatiana Gonzalez // Staff Writer
