I usually trust my first instincts on a movie (I knew Barnyard was going to stink, and boy was I right!). But they have let me down once or twice. I originally thought Open Season was going to be equally as bad, but I was pleasantly surprised.
The story: Martin Lawrence plays Boog, a pampered grizzly bear who stars in a nature show run by kind-hearted ranger Beth (Debra Messing). When Boog rescues Elliott (Ashton Kutcher), the hapless mule deer attaches himself to the bear, eventually causing them both to be sent back into the wild, just in time for hunting-obsessed Shaw (a scenery-chewing Gary Sinise) to get them in his sights.
Sony Pictures Animation have done a solid job with the visuals, considering it's technically their first feature (I guess Monster House and Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties don't count). I would rate the animated work somewhere below Cars or The Ant Bully, but not by much. Boog and Shaw are well-done; Beth and Elliott somewhat less so. The background animation (especially of water, a very difficult image to render) is solid, which gives me hope that Sony can kick it up a few notches for their next project.
Where Open Season falls down is in the story. It's a cute concept but, after the animal hijinks of Ice Age 2, Over the Hedge, Madagascar, Barnyard and so many more, there is only so much you can do with this concept before the well runs dry. The script feels very disjointed: writers Steve Bencich and Ron J. Friedman needed a few more drafts to get this sucker in shape.
It also doesn't help that there aren't as many gags as you might think with a film like this. Shrek 2 set the bar extremely high, and Open Season doesn't even come close to matching it.
While we're at it, Lawrence and Kutcher's Odd Couple pairing is nothing I haven't seen before. Also, the movie's mid-piece (Boog and Elliott trying to escape Shaw as they all go over a waterfall) overshadows the final confrontation, giving the whole movie an anti-climactic feel.
In addition, the minor characters suffer from a lack of development. Billy Connelly is wasted as the Scottish Squirrel McSquizzy: a fun idea that the writers didn't know what to do with (they end up with a Braveheart hommage that sailed over kids' heads). The same fate befalls other characters like the shell-shocked ducks, fighting fish or engineering beavers. It's as if the writers hoped that if they threw in enough wacky supporting characters, that no one would notice that they really didn't do anything.
Overall, Open Season is a fun family flick, if you don't set your sights too high. It won't give the makers of The Incredibles or Shrek 2 any sleepless nights but it's not Barnyard either. A solid 6 out of 10.
Trailers with Open Season include Alex Rider: Stormbreaker, Happy Feet, Battle of the Bulbs, Flushed Away, and Surf's Up.
