Furry Vengeance Review

How can you review Furry Vengeance? You can’t be film snobbish about it. That just makes you look like a cold, heartless jerk. You can’t be hyper critical about its specific brand of nonsense, because it’s aimed at kids. It’s also not right to be sarcastic, because the film is such an easy target.

This is what must be done: Total immaturity.

Oh god! It’s horrible! The CG critters are utter agony! Seeing Brendan Fraser walk around in hot pink sweats is forever burned into my retinas! Thoughts of impossibly large piles of bird poop are ingrained into my brain! The mere concept of a future Roger Kumble directed effort is simply too much to bear! Won’t someone think of the film critics?

Ahh… that feels better. Let’s stop and look back at what Furry Vengeance accomplishes. It’s an eco movie, shoving the concept of “save the forest” down your throat so forcefully, there might as well be a giant mallet pounding it deeper and deeper into your sternum.

It makes Brendan Fraser look like an idiot. If anything, he’s a hell of a good sport, dousing himself in tomato juice to remove the smell of a skunk, inadvertently wearing a bra that was supposed to be a towel, and then donning the above-mentioned sweat suit for an attempted stealth run across his yard.

Furry Vengeance confirms that legs… err, Brooke Shields still has it, providing something for the male audience drug to this thing with their kids. While they gleefully romp around the room to smiling ferrets, dad has something to smile about too.

The film also confirms that Ken Jeong will take on anything. From All About Steve to the upcoming Vampires Suck, he has no problem being associated with some of the most dire garbage Hollywood can produce, Furry Vengeance very much included. Not only is he a racial stereotype, he’s a character stereotype, that corporate jerk looking to slaughter the innocent animals for a quick buck. He’s as evil as everyone responsible for making this tripe. [xrr rating=1/5 label=Movie]

They sooo didn't pay you enough @ 43:38

Beyond the Brooke Shields eye candy, this AVC encode from Summit is also right up there. This one was shot digitally utilizing the inconsistent Red One with simply unbelievable results. It has flaws, so it’s not quite perfect (just to bring this down a notch). Black levels can occasionally falter, and just a hint of noise can be spotted in low light scenarios. Detail can also be a tad inconsistent, some aerial photography at 11:32 joining some softer close-ups as a bit off the mark.

The rest is a colorful, vibrant, eye-pleasing affair that is as bold and rich as anything else on the market. Sharpness is superlative, the fuzzy critters showcasing fully resolved hairs with immense accuracy. There are simply no issues to take into account, the benefit of real animals shows on-screen, ignoring the idiotic application of CG mouths. The opening credits sequence, a meager animated affair, is wonderfully crisp and free of faults.

Forest sequences are jaw-dropping. A shot at 20:50 resolves every single branch, leaf, and piece of bark on every tree. It’s gorgeous. The film even opens on a beautiful pan of the soon to be developed area, also rich in terms of depth and detail. Close-ups, despite that inconsistent quality, almost always perform at the peak of their game. Even in the mid-range things tend to hold firm, such as 1:03:53.

Contrast is bright, leading to a bit of bloom, nothing terribly offensive or texture-sapping. Shadow detail is fine, well handled, and consistent. Flesh tones are spot on, and again, the color is just perfect for this film. Some of the long shots of the fair, with vividly colored clothing and brightly saturated signs are jaw-dropping. The array of greens, from the individually distinct grass blades to the trees all about are tremendous. It’s not worth sitting through this movie, but it looks awesome. [xrr rating=4/5 label=Video]

The disc also produces an extensive DTS-HD effort, which from the start is aggressive. The animals set up a ridiculously complex trap, one that tracks fast-moving rocks and other parts through the front of the soundfield without fault.

It does a lot considering what it has to work with, including a slightly beefy explosion at 20:31, likely slightly subdued as to not scare the kids. A constant stream of forest ambiance is noted in the form of bird chirps, and crowded sequences from the various construction sites to the finale at the fair are filled with surround work.

Action at the end of the film as the animals commandeer a truck (!) and drive it through a crowd is spectacular, with precision placement in every channel. The roar of the engines is clean, and the vehicle passes through every channel. Music offers fine clarity throughout. [xrr rating=4/5 label=Audio]

A commentary from director Roger Kumble and cast members carries over into four deleted scenes that run 6:11. The Pitfalls of Pratfalls is a general making-of running a bit over nine-minutes. Working with Animals talks about training and working with various creatures, followed by a gag reel that just barely misses the four-minute mark. [xrr rating=2/5 label=Extras]