Robert Downey Jr.’s Failed Comeback
Beloved childhood book comes to life, but should have just stayed dead
By Colin Smith
Beloved childhood book comes to life, but should have just stayed dead
By Colin Smith
After years of reshoots and re-edits, “Dolittle” ended up being the sloppy and absurd film the trailer made it out to be.
Starring Robert Downey Jr. as a doctor who can talk to animals, the story is quite a simple one. After finding out Queen Victoria is gravely ill, Dr. Dolittle, and his crew of quirky animals must go on an adventure to find the cure. Yet, the movie never seems to truly hit its stride — at every step, “Dolittle” stumbles, leaving the movie a jumbled waste of talent and time.
There really isn’t much to talk about when it comes to “Dolittle” — it’s one of those movies you walk out of and know immediately that it will not leave a lasting impression. Even looking at it from a kid’s perspective, it seemed to barely sustain the attention of the boy in front of me. Being family-friendly is one thing, but insulting our intelligence is another and with a plot that concludes on a fart joke, it feels like a child wrote the script.
Whether it was the horrible looking computer-generated animals or the constant barrage of poorly written jokes, I started asking, what happened? Why did Universal Pictures release such a movie? And why is Robert Downey Jr. talking in such a strange accent? The movie was riddled with odd choices and in the end, just left me confused.
Since coming off of “Avengers: Endgame,” Downey Jr. has been idolized as the charming Iron Man ever since the original 2008 blockbuster film. “Dolittle,” I thought, would at least have some of that charm injected into his character. I was wrong, to say the least. It’s an embarrassing performance from him and would’ve been the only redeemable part of the movie, if it wasn’t so strange. I can’t tell if he was directed to do this or given personal liberty — either way, it doesn’t work.
I believe we have an early contender for possibly the biggest wasted opportunity of the year. Even if you like Robert Downey Jr., I’d recommend saving your money on anything else.
Starring Robert Downey Jr. as a doctor who can talk to animals, the story is quite a simple one. After finding out Queen Victoria is gravely ill, Dr. Dolittle, and his crew of quirky animals must go on an adventure to find the cure. Yet, the movie never seems to truly hit its stride — at every step, “Dolittle” stumbles, leaving the movie a jumbled waste of talent and time.
There really isn’t much to talk about when it comes to “Dolittle” — it’s one of those movies you walk out of and know immediately that it will not leave a lasting impression. Even looking at it from a kid’s perspective, it seemed to barely sustain the attention of the boy in front of me. Being family-friendly is one thing, but insulting our intelligence is another and with a plot that concludes on a fart joke, it feels like a child wrote the script.
Whether it was the horrible looking computer-generated animals or the constant barrage of poorly written jokes, I started asking, what happened? Why did Universal Pictures release such a movie? And why is Robert Downey Jr. talking in such a strange accent? The movie was riddled with odd choices and in the end, just left me confused.
Since coming off of “Avengers: Endgame,” Downey Jr. has been idolized as the charming Iron Man ever since the original 2008 blockbuster film. “Dolittle,” I thought, would at least have some of that charm injected into his character. I was wrong, to say the least. It’s an embarrassing performance from him and would’ve been the only redeemable part of the movie, if it wasn’t so strange. I can’t tell if he was directed to do this or given personal liberty — either way, it doesn’t work.
I believe we have an early contender for possibly the biggest wasted opportunity of the year. Even if you like Robert Downey Jr., I’d recommend saving your money on anything else.