Kangaroo Jack isn't so much a bad movie as it is mediocre and utterly confused. This movie feels like it's having an identity crisis where it's not entirely sure what message it wants to send, what genre it wants to fit, what audience it wants to target, and where it even wants to end up.
The leads are slightly entertaining, albeit not very funny. They seem like they're trying to put in a bit of effort into the movie, which is welcomed gratefully, but the biggest problem here is the screenplay.
The screenplay is just hackneyed, clichéd, predictable, and extremely stale. The whole idea behind the picture isn't all that creative, but it did have a bit of potential, I thought, had they been able to realize what they were writing wasn't really all that funny. This is one of those films that I can't blame the actors for. They were capable and had enough chemistry that they could have pulled off a decent comedy. The problem was that the director had no idea if he wanted to do a kiddy film or a comedy or a Rush Hour knock off or a crime thriller...
As a family film, Kangaroo utterly fails. There's nothing here that I think kids under the age of eleven would find enjoyable, and anyone over that age would be a little too sophisticated for the jokes in this romp.
But even if the film had aimed more for adults rather than kids, I still don't think the filmmakers would have been able to pull it off. Bottom line, the jokes are too adolescent, unless they're being crude, and the dramatic parts are far too silly.
3/10
The leads are slightly entertaining, albeit not very funny. They seem like they're trying to put in a bit of effort into the movie, which is welcomed gratefully, but the biggest problem here is the screenplay.
The screenplay is just hackneyed, clichéd, predictable, and extremely stale. The whole idea behind the picture isn't all that creative, but it did have a bit of potential, I thought, had they been able to realize what they were writing wasn't really all that funny. This is one of those films that I can't blame the actors for. They were capable and had enough chemistry that they could have pulled off a decent comedy. The problem was that the director had no idea if he wanted to do a kiddy film or a comedy or a Rush Hour knock off or a crime thriller...
As a family film, Kangaroo utterly fails. There's nothing here that I think kids under the age of eleven would find enjoyable, and anyone over that age would be a little too sophisticated for the jokes in this romp.
But even if the film had aimed more for adults rather than kids, I still don't think the filmmakers would have been able to pull it off. Bottom line, the jokes are too adolescent, unless they're being crude, and the dramatic parts are far too silly.
3/10