FILM REVIEW: COYOTE VS ACME (PG) ESP RATING: 3.5/5

A nostalgic Looney Tunes adventure that deserved far better than the treatment it received.

Honestly, I never thought I’d end up seeing Coyote vs Acme.

For those who follow the stranger side of Hollywood, you’ll probably remember the saga surrounding this film. It was completed, only to be shelved by Warner Bros and treated as a tax write-off before eventually being rescued by independent distributor Ketchup Entertainment, who acquired it for around $50 million. And I really hope that gamble pays off for them, because this is absolutely a solid enough film that never deserved to disappear.

This genre-bending blend of animation and live-action film stars Will Forte as struggling lawyer Kevin Avery, who reluctantly agrees to represent Wile E Coyote (Eric Bauza) after yet another ACME product fails spectacularly. How does this bumbling idiot hold up against ACME’s smooth and formidable lawyer, played by John Cena? I won’t spoil it for you.

Even before seeing Coyote vs Acme, I did find it a little odd that the filmmakers chose to make a courtroom hearing such a central part of the story, because you don’t exactly associate courtroom drama with family films. And, as it turns out, I was both right and wrong to worry about this.

When the film settles into the courtroom, it does indeed start to drag, and younger viewers may struggle slightly during those moments.

However, these scenes are actually few and far between – thankfully so – as the viewing experience is much more enjoyable whenever it gets back out into the real world. Whenever the film lets Wile E Coyote loose, it truly captures that wonderfully ridiculous spirit of the original cartoons.

For me, the biggest appeal was definitely that nostalgia.

I was initially surprised by how many adults were in my screening, but perhaps I shouldn’t have been. Wile E Coyote, Road Runner, Bugs Bunny and the rest aren’t simply cartoon characters to a lot of us. They’re part of our childhood.

We’re living through a time when everything seems to be changing at an incredible rate, so there was something strangely comforting about sitting in a cinema and watching Wile E continue his never-ending battle with the Road Runner.

It’s familiar, it’s silly, and sometimes that’s exactly what you need – and if you’re a Looney Tunes fan it's well worth catching. 

ESP Rating: 3.5/5

Mike Clarke

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-43VeYGiPM

Showcase Cinema De Lux Peterborough & Odeon Luxe Peterborough, Out Now

Cast: Eric Bauza, Will Forte, Lana Condor, John Cena, Tone Bell, Luiz Guzman, Martha Kelly, Pj Byrne, Kenneth Choi, Candi Milo & Jim Cummings

Running Time: 1 Hr 43 Mins

Director: Dave Green

Film Review Venue: Showcase Cinema De Lux Peterborough

For all the latest film information & showtimes at Peterborough’s Showcase Cinema De Lux & Odeon Luxe Cinemas go to www.showcasecinemas.co.uk and www.odeon.co.uk