Review of Early Man (2018) by Kevin O — 04 Aug 2018

While I love Aardman's stop-motion films, this one is a bit hit-and-miss. The visual gags and jokes are geared toward younger children, but there is a ton of social commentary, making it great for adults with a progressive and discerning eye.

It comments on soccer corruption, "diving" in soccer (a term familiar to anyone who watched the World Cup this year), environmentalism, evolution, financial greed, gender roles, imperialism, colonialism, mining, population displacement, alienation, wealth inequality, cultural hegemony, state exceptionalism, stereotyping of "primitive cultures," weight of history, teamwork vs.

individualism, and the popular worship and diplomatic weight of sports. Despite its intelligent commentary, some of the jokes are a bit more elementary than typical Aardman films. It also lacks character development and narrative depth.

And the big game at the end feels simplified and rushed. Rent, don't buy, unless you love Aardman and collect their movies, and save your money for the Shaun the Sheep and Chicken Run sequels coming out in 2019 and 2020, respectively.