Saw this movie on TV yesterday, a couple days before it'll be released on DVD. From what I understand it was a straight to DVD release.
Basically it's another one of the many and probably more to come Jim Carrey-less Jim Carrey movie sequels.
This movie wouldn't of been bad if it was it's own title. Like 'Larry Wilkins, Animal Investigator!', but titling this Ace Ventura Jr is gonna bug any Ace Ventura fan. And like most of these movies coming out anymore, Jim Carrey isn't even in this movie. Ace Ventura isn't even in it played by a 3rd rate actor. Instead they fix that by having Ace killed off in a plane accident years before the movie takes place.
Now in this movie, you have Josh Flitter playing Ace Ventura Jr. He's a kid who likes helping animals, like Ace Ventura did. His mother gets onto him constantly through-out the movie for doing this, which she doesn't like and just wants him to be normal. Eventually a panda from the zoo as which his mom works, gets stolen, and his mom get's imprisoned, while Ace Jr tries to solve the mystery and the local authorities not believing anything he says because he's a kid.
Like I said earlier, this would of been an excellent movie for everyone if this wasn't part of the Ace Ventura franchise. Unfortunitly, it is. Through-out the movie, we get Ace Jr spewing forth the original Ace's common caught phrases like 'All Righty then!' all the times this is done, it seems extremely forced. The movie would of been better without any of this. Kid aren't gonna catch the references. Not to mention that anytime someone gets chased or caught by a security guard, they yell out 'DON'T TASE ME BRO!' Kid's won't understand the reference, but the adults who are angry that this movie is part of the Ace Ventura franchise will.
The acting is pretty good, but some of the props and such are terrible. Anyone can tell that the pandas in the movie are fake, especially when someone picks one up and easily carry them away. They look like something right out of a horror film, and could give kids nightmares. Then, in one scene, Laura goes into this lab to copy all the data off a scientist's hard drive, and the animals in the cages are all fake. Matter of fact, you can easily see that these animals are all stuffed and are right out of a hunter's trophy room.
Also the movie is extremely anti-climatic(major spoilers in this section). The movie probably contains only 30 minutes of the main plot. Any other time it's going on about a false lead or bullies at school. At the end you find out that the rich kid's father was behind the famous animal disappearances and the son was behind the student's. Doesn't even end in a semi-decent chase scene. Could of expected a horse chase or bike chase at the end for kids. All that happens is Ace Jr finds these shoes that prove the father is behind everything, Ace Jr calls the cops, cops don't believe him again, then he goes to the stables and frees all the animals, father's arrested, and Ace Jr chases the kid inside to find all the kid's animals and has to pull a koi fish out of an alligator's stomache.
Maybe someday Jim Carrey will make a real Ace Ventura 3, but until then, this isn't a substitute for adults. This is an good movie for kids, but for adults, avoid it cause it'll just make you angry. Maybe in the future they'll stop tacking movies like this onto well established titles (Son of the Mask for example...). This would of been an excellent movie for families if it would of been it's own thing and left the Ace Ventura catch phrases and entire concept out, but no.
4/10 -1 Anti-climatic ending -5 part of the Ace Ventura saga +4 good movie for kids.
Basically it's another one of the many and probably more to come Jim Carrey-less Jim Carrey movie sequels.
This movie wouldn't of been bad if it was it's own title. Like 'Larry Wilkins, Animal Investigator!', but titling this Ace Ventura Jr is gonna bug any Ace Ventura fan. And like most of these movies coming out anymore, Jim Carrey isn't even in this movie. Ace Ventura isn't even in it played by a 3rd rate actor. Instead they fix that by having Ace killed off in a plane accident years before the movie takes place.
Now in this movie, you have Josh Flitter playing Ace Ventura Jr. He's a kid who likes helping animals, like Ace Ventura did. His mother gets onto him constantly through-out the movie for doing this, which she doesn't like and just wants him to be normal. Eventually a panda from the zoo as which his mom works, gets stolen, and his mom get's imprisoned, while Ace Jr tries to solve the mystery and the local authorities not believing anything he says because he's a kid.
Like I said earlier, this would of been an excellent movie for everyone if this wasn't part of the Ace Ventura franchise. Unfortunitly, it is. Through-out the movie, we get Ace Jr spewing forth the original Ace's common caught phrases like 'All Righty then!' all the times this is done, it seems extremely forced. The movie would of been better without any of this. Kid aren't gonna catch the references. Not to mention that anytime someone gets chased or caught by a security guard, they yell out 'DON'T TASE ME BRO!' Kid's won't understand the reference, but the adults who are angry that this movie is part of the Ace Ventura franchise will.
The acting is pretty good, but some of the props and such are terrible. Anyone can tell that the pandas in the movie are fake, especially when someone picks one up and easily carry them away. They look like something right out of a horror film, and could give kids nightmares. Then, in one scene, Laura goes into this lab to copy all the data off a scientist's hard drive, and the animals in the cages are all fake. Matter of fact, you can easily see that these animals are all stuffed and are right out of a hunter's trophy room.
Also the movie is extremely anti-climatic(major spoilers in this section). The movie probably contains only 30 minutes of the main plot. Any other time it's going on about a false lead or bullies at school. At the end you find out that the rich kid's father was behind the famous animal disappearances and the son was behind the student's. Doesn't even end in a semi-decent chase scene. Could of expected a horse chase or bike chase at the end for kids. All that happens is Ace Jr finds these shoes that prove the father is behind everything, Ace Jr calls the cops, cops don't believe him again, then he goes to the stables and frees all the animals, father's arrested, and Ace Jr chases the kid inside to find all the kid's animals and has to pull a koi fish out of an alligator's stomache.
Maybe someday Jim Carrey will make a real Ace Ventura 3, but until then, this isn't a substitute for adults. This is an good movie for kids, but for adults, avoid it cause it'll just make you angry. Maybe in the future they'll stop tacking movies like this onto well established titles (Son of the Mask for example...). This would of been an excellent movie for families if it would of been it's own thing and left the Ace Ventura catch phrases and entire concept out, but no.
4/10 -1 Anti-climatic ending -5 part of the Ace Ventura saga +4 good movie for kids.