The Nut Job is less fun than a kick in the…well, you get the idea…

Like its fellow Weinstein distributed stablemate “Escape From Planet Earth”, “The Nut Job” reaches the UK some months after it made its Stateside debut, but it really shouldn’t have bothered making the trans-Atlantic trip.

When an attempt to rob a nut cart goes disastrously wrong and destroys the park’s food stores for the winter, rebellious squirrel Surly (Will Arnett) is exiled from the park by Racoon (Liam Neeson), the fierce leader of the park animals. Left with only his rat sidekick, Surly stumbles upon the ‘Lost City Of Nutlantis’ – in reality a speciality nut shop, closed for renovations but oddly still fully stocked – and plans the heist of a lifetime. Simultaneously, some human crooks have set up in the nut shop too in order to rob the bank next door…

Adapted from a short animated film by Peter Lepeniotis, it simply fails to scale up well. The background designs and artwork are pleasant enough but the character design is bland and uninspired while the characters themselves are just unpleasant, particularly the ‘hero’ we’re meant to be rooting for. Despite a voice cast that boasts Liam Neeson, Brendan Fraser and Katherine Heigl, it’s so dull and lifeless that it fails to grab or hold the attention. Inexplicably, a sequel is on the way for 2015.

One of the few films the Mertmas has asked to watch or do something else whilst watching (another winner of this dubious accolade was “Shrek Forever After”), it rarely manages to be anything more than a very pale imitation of a vastly superior woodland creature heist film. If you’re looking for something to while away the last few days of the school holidays, give this a miss and get hold of a copy of Dreamworks’ 2006 movie “Over The Hedge” instead.

the nut job review
Score 2/10


Hi there! If you enjoyed this post, why not sign up to get new posts sent straight to your inbox?

Sign up to receive a weekly digest of The Craggus' latest posts.

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

logo

Related posts

8th Anniversary Post

8th Anniversary Post

8th Anniversary Post At 20:22 on the 7th of June 2013, I clicked on the "publish" button for the very first time, posting my very first review, the uninspiring and now all-but-forgotten I GIVE IT A YEAR. Thankfully, the film's title wasn't a prognosis of the blog's future and...

Evil Dead Rise (2023) Review

Evil Dead Rise (2023) Review

Evil Dead Rise sets out to Make Horror Grate Again! After the perennially troubled franchise failed to get a direct sequel to either ARMY OF DARKNESS, or THE EVIL DEAD (2013) or even a fourth season of ASH VS THE EVIL DEAD off the ground, the Deadites finally managed to return to...

Doctor Who: Lucky Day

Doctor Who: Lucky Day

Ruby learns just how much 50p can cost. Like last year, it feels uncomfortably early in a season to be having a Doctor-Lite story. They tend to work better as late in the season calm-before-the-storm pauses than momentum disrupting brake-pumps just as things were getting going but...

Drive-Away Dolls (2024) Review

Drive-Away Dolls (2024) Review

The wrong car going the right way. Jamie drinks like someone who knows the punchline to a joke everyone else in the bar hasn’t heard yet, and Tilda treats earnestness like a communicable disease. Together, they’re a mess of mutual damage, unapologetic libido, and road movie swagger...

Craggus’ Trek Trek Phase II Vol 10

Craggus' Trek Trek Phase II Vol 10

Prepare to be transported by Craggus' Trek Trek Phase II Vol 10 Craggus' Trek Trek Phase II Vol 10 starts with perfection then gets bogged down in family-focused soap operatics. Star Trek The Next Generation S3E26: The Best Of Both Worlds Not just one...

Convoy (1978) Review

Convoy (1978) Review

Sam Peckinpah's Convoy starts to lose momentum just as the rubber hits the road Judged by what made it to the screen, Convoy is far from Sam Peckinpah’s best work. Intended to capitalise on the booming popularity of CB radio and American road culture during the 1970’s, this...

Grease 2 (1982) Review

Grease 2 (1982) Review

Grease may have been the word, but Grease 2 is the turd. If Grease was a slick, nostalgia-drenched jukebox party, Grease 2 is the kind of off-key, shambolic karaoke performance that makes you want to unplug the machine and flee the bar. This glorified fan-fiction sequel never stood a...

Doctor Who: The Church On Ruby Road

Doctor Who: The Church On Ruby Road

With something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue, Doctor Who gets us to The Church On Ruby Road on time Christmas is a time for treats – and also, on TV, repeats – so it’s little wonder that Russell T Davies usher’s in Ncuti Gatwa’s era with a bit of razzle...