Truly Dreadful Film

the audience applauded

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

I gave it a 7.5 out of 10

Alvin and the Chipmunks is a cinematic masterpiece with it's beautifully pitched music that is not only excellent and but does not stilt the film. And the pacing. It let's emotional scenes grow and allow time for them to breathe and the comedy is edited very snappily and it all blends together seamlessly. The attention to detail in the animation is superb and the subtlety in the voice acting really gives an art-house buff like me really something to chew on. And the cinematography, capturing beautiful strokes of scenery, and the direction that really captures tone and every shot is set up so masterfully it's reminiscent of Michael Haneke. It also has the wonder and magic of Spielberg and the blending of CG and practical effects has not been as impactive since Jurassic Park. The emotional punches hit also and gives off such visceral and raw emotion you feel like you are standing with the Chipmunks. The characterisation is superb, with a fantastic screenplay slowly revealing characters nuances quietly so you are always engrossed in the characters and relationships and the story while intricate with hidden metaphors, also is a great platform for the characters to show their traits during stressful situations. I think the only flaw with this film is that you have to pay close attention to get the full experience so I would recommend only hardcore film buffs to watch this film as it is an essential piece of cinema, more impactive than the Godfather and more intricate and intellectually mature since Synecdoche, New York. A masterpiece of art-house cinema and I highly recommend. 10/10

As an "Alvin and the Chipmunks" fan, I believe that this franchise has a lot of potential, yet unfortunately is being poorly written, directed and produced (No offence). I get the impression that the film crew working on this franchise are just creating them to get them out of the way, and not paying attention to detail, or anything of this matter.Action-wise, this franchise is a little on the disappointing side. Sure, there were damsels in distress and a moment of fear evident in the characters' eyes, however, none that would compel you to want to talk about it over and over. These are children's films, I get that, but there are a fair few of individuals older than a child whom are fans as well, and would like to be really up on the edge of that seat. Franchises like "Ice Age" or "Shrek" are rated PG, they make you wonder what's going to happen next, surprise you when a character is faced with life-threatening situations, but then still gives you that good old happy ending, and you leave the theatre feeling pleasantly satisfied. The "Alvin and the Chipmunks" franchise has a lot of potential, however it hasn't exactly met its mark just yet, action-wise. Also, I saw an extreme alteration in the character Ian Hawke's personality. I enjoyed him on screen during the first instalment of "Alvin and the Chipmunks," however, when he just so "happened" to be working as entertainment (Chipwrecked) on the exact same cruise Dave and the chipmunks and the chipettes were on, acting like he had truly lost his marbles and felt a little out of place gave me a bit of a bad impression on the film. To add to this, it felt as though all Dave and Ian were doing throughout the ENTIRE duration of Chipwrecked was arguing and looking for the chipmunks and the chipettes. They didn't really play a very significant role in the third instalment at all. This other character didn't seem very special either; Zoe, the strange yet quirky castaway (or as we find out towards the end, a "Pirate") the chipmunks and the chipettes ran into on the island. She seemed as though she was just created to 'be there', all happy and lively, and then go nuts when suddenly finding out (by 'Simone') there really was gold on the island, that she'd been looking for for nine, or it could be eight years. She didn't really have a back story, besides the fact that she so happened to come across a real treasure map and was more determined than ever to find it when "they" told her she was crazy and said the map was fake. There also was no story behind the treasure map or how the gold was embedded there; did it just happen to be there?

I really didn't care much for "Alvin and the Chipmunks," and so to be honest I never even bothered with "The Squeakquel." I did, however, choose to inflict "Chipwrecked" upon myself (in the company of my daughter, who's 8.) I can say without any doubt at all that she's too advanced for it. There were a couple of scenes that elicited a chuckle from her - and I think one got a chuckle out of me, but that was it. There were other scenes that caused her to engage in her favourite hobby of drawing, while I mercifully caught up on some sleep two or three times. This is not a good movie.The story is empty throughout and silly most of the time. Yeah, I know, it's about singing chipmunks, so of course it's silly. But still. And the evil Ian is still a part of this. I really found him irritating in the first movie. Why is he still there? The title of the movie more or less explains it - the chipmunks are on a cruise heading to the International Music Awards when they're accidentally cast away on a deserted island. (And, yes, there is great homage paid to the movie "Cast Away" in this.) But there's really just nothing to maintain interest in this.If you're over the age of 5, you probably won't get anything out of this. The 5 and under set might appreciate the undeniable "cute-ness" of the chipmunks. But having seen this, I do hope it's the end of the series. (2/10)

Both of my children were anxious for this movie to come out as they enjoyed the first two titles. I will warn that this would have qualified as a musical, there is so much singing. They didn't even want to finish watching the movie, the singing, ALL the time; they hated it. I watch a lot of different titles with them, over and over again because they like them enough. This is one movie I am grateful that they didn't like because honestly, there is no way I could sit through this movie again. If you liked the singing in the previous two movies and wished there was a LOT more of it, you may like this one.It's a shame, I think this movie was enough to turn them off of any future chipmunk movies if any more should come out.