Bolt is riveting
- Review By:
- tpb
- Date:
- January 20, 2009
- Movie:
- Bolt
- Director:
- Byron Howard & Chris Williams
- Released:
- 2008
- Good Guy:
- Bolt
- Played By:
- John Travolta
- Bad Guy:
- Reality
- Played By:
- Everyone Else
- MPAA Rating:
- PG
- Family Friendly Ages:
- Everyone
Bolt (voiced by John Travolta) is a TV-star dog who believes he has the super-powers that only special-effects can produce. His sole purpose in life is to keep Penny (voiced by Miley Cyrus) from falling into the evil clutches of Dr. Calico (voiced by Malcolm McDowell). It takes nearly half of this absolutely hilarious movie for Bolt to realize, however, that he is just a dog who cannot leap over tall buildings; burn through objects with laser vision; nor rip up asphalt with a super-bark. The heart-breaking process of coming to this
realization is a series of hysterically funny action sequences that makes this movie a treat and a keeper. Bolt's fear of styrofoam as his kryptonite/Achille's Heel never wears thin and his occasionally lucky success
keeps his super-dog allusions mostly intact. But aside from all of that, Rhino the hamster (voiced by Mark Walton) is quite possibly the funniest sidekick in action movie history. The effortless way that Rhino's own alternative take on reality blends with Bolt's and how that serves to advance the plot to its inevitable conclusion is nothing short of brilliant. Bolt's two sidekicks, Rhino and Mittens (voiced by Susie Essman) avoid the cloying, annoying, irritating, contentious banter that the two Star Wars robots so unfortunately have modeled ad nauseum and that Hollywood now uses to cliched effect. (It wasn't George Lucas' Star Wars (1977) that first used this plot/character combination in film, which Lucas later used disasterously in Willow (1988). Akira Kurosawa's “The Hidden Fortress” (1958) created the device and made it work brilliantly).
Okay, so “Bolt” is a cartoon with talking animals. But, let's be fair, so is the whole “Rambo” franchise, on some level. Sure, “Bolt” is sappy – but it's a dog movie! If you get misty at the notion of a dog's unconditional loyalty and tear up at canine self-sacrifice, you're going to be right at home with “Bolt”. If you are embarrassed when weeping over manipulative movie sentimentality, you may still be able to cover it with the “These are tears of laughter” excuse. So you're covered either way.
Agreed, the hamster was hysterical.