65
Early Man lacks the warmth and wit of Aardman's best clay creations.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
45
There’s a mild chuckle every so often in Early Man...but overall the movie collapses in a heap of familiarity and lackadaisicalness. Park is an animation legend, but even the greats occasionally whiff it.
60
Thankfully, some typically rich voice-acting and a plethora of visual gags help to gloss over a number of uncharacteristic stumbles.
70
The Hollywood Reporter by Leslie Felperin
No matter when the action is set, some things never change in Park’s world. Nor should they.
75
As ever with Aardman, the cleverest moments are also the most fleeting.
80
The result is a welcome return to a form of stop-motion that takes pride in the technique’s inevitable imperfections (such as thumbprints in the modeling clay), while putting extra care into the underlying script, with its daffy humor and slightly-off characters.
60
It seems a strange thing to say about a film featuring a giant man-eating mallard, but a bit more eccentricity wouldn’t have gone amiss.
80
The Telegraph by Robbie Collin
There is something about the cast’s doughy physiques that has allowed Park’s flair for caricature to run completely berserk, with every character model pushed right to its expressive limits.
70
Screen International by Wendy Ide
The laughs are split between deft sight gags and set pieces, and goofy word play.