Missing Link

A delightful and polished stop-motion adventure-comedy and droll comment on colonialism.

A charming family-friendly story about adventure and friendship — told with bar-raising artistic craft and technical skill. We’d expect nothing less from Laika.

It all goes down easily if not exactly unforgettably; a wispy slice of hirsute whimsy.

Missing Link is a fun, if uneventful and uninspired, trip, but at least it won’t annoy the parents who are along for its fast-paced ride.

“Link” is fun as far as it goes, but from Laika we expect something with a little more depth.

What you won’t be bowled over by, however, is the storytelling, which makes Missing Link the weakest link in Laika’s chain of movies to date.

One wishes the script might have shared the degree of precision that has obviously been applied to the technical side of the production, which is resplendent in visual dazzle from the smallest beads of sweat on a character’s forehead to the vintage knit fabrics to those sprawling exotic vistas.

A meet and greet with one of the most fantastic legendary beings of the world, and the stop-motion genre. One of the plot's strengths are the characters with own soul and charming, and the fresh, natural humor. Just stay in your seat for enjoy and watch the surprises that come with the exit credits.

This is quite an entertaining film. Sure its cheesy and predictable, to an extent, but its amusing (the fact that the villain is called Mr Stank did make me laugh!) and as I say entertaining as well, for a family film. It features a new range of quirky Aardman characters and has a bit of a feel of a mix of perhaps Around the World in 80 Days and Pixars Up maybe? not as good but certainly a watchable, um, watch. I also found myself thinking of the Shanghai films starring Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson as well, with the scenes set on a train in the wild West and in Asia. The main character is one that will likely appeal to most children. I'd recommend this film to fans of Aardman studio films and people looking for family friendly films.

Didn't find enjoyment with this, personally. I found things a bit off with 'Missing Link', none of it really clicked for me - it's without a little added oomph. I was watching it unfold, as opposed to feeling invested in it. The plot is fine, just a bit bland. I found the dialogue decent, particularly with Link's schtick - though that wore off eventually. A lot of what I just mentioned probably comes down to the casting, which is meh to me. Zach Galifianakis, Hugh Jackman and Zoe Saldana are all very good actors, but none of them stood out - Galifianakis, especially, feels flat. The supports don't impress either, despite some decent names. From 'Kubo and the Two Strings', my favourite Laika production, to this - my least favourite entry from the studio. They are, however, still yet to produce a film I dislike - so that's a plus.

It's not my favorite Laika movie, but it was entertaining, I loved the designs and the scenery.

I hated the art style so the story or the jokes or anything need to land. The story is brain dead with no surprises, no tension, and a message oh so bland and worn out. No likable characters as none of the actors are putting in any real effort and the characters themselves are flat and emotionless. Galifianakis only slightly peaks above the rest but is hammered down by the jokes. This is a film where the same and only joke is told a different way no less than 50 times. It got me to quickly exhale out of my nose the first time it was told and that was the end I sincerely hope we're past the "who cares, it's just for kids" days but I'll say this anyway: Kids entertainment does not have to and should not equal bad entertainment. This was truly a slog to get through and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. The Golden Globes must have been so split between Disneys and How to Train Your Dragon 3 that this somehow edged them out. If its nominated for an Oscar over "I Lost My Body' (review to come), I will be quite disappointed.