Of any of the “family films” in theaters for Thanksgiving, this is the strongest. I think almost anyone could watch this movie and have a good time, and I was consistently impressed with the unique world Ralph sets up.
What Works: This movie could have just been an excuse to rehash old nostalgia (like Hotel Transylvania merely bundled together old monsters to try to make something new) with video game characters, but it kept being smarter, sharper, more playful, and inventive than that. I straight-up loved Jane Lynch as a foxy, Halo-esque soldier, and Sarah Silverman does a nice take on her childlike-mischievousness (by playing, for once, an actual child). As the misunderstood, under-appreciated title lug, you can’t do much better than the misunderstood, under-appreciated actor John C. Reilly, who finds shadings in Ralph that the script doesn’t always provide. But the real “star” of the movie is the colorful, fun world it sets up for us, combining a knowing look at the evolution of videogames (from old arcade games like Ralph to newer, yet soulless shoot-em-ups like Hero’s Duty) with a mad-dash plot all its own.
What Doesn’t Work: Does the energy flag in the last third? Yes. Do I wish the ending were a little less sappy? Yes. Does a little bit of Sarah Silverman’s glitch character go a long way? Yes. [She’s good, but begins to monopolize a movie that’s not really hers after a while.]
What I Would Have Done Differently: I might have introduced Silverman’s character a little earlier (as is, it feels weird that a character only introduced about thirty minutes into the movie becomes such a big part of it) and used her more sparingly. I might also have gone for more of a cliffhanger ending——this is about old arcade characters after all—–but most of these problems are so small they’re barely worth mentioning.