Yes folks, you read correctly, the law of diminishing returns has finally caught up with our anthropomorphic friends Manny the mammoth (Ray Romano), Sid the sloth (John Leguizamo) and saber-toothed feline Diego (Denis Leary). The only character that doesn`t creak with old age and tired jokes is Scrat, the acorn-chasing squirrel, and even he can`t sustain audience interest all on his lonesome. The fourth entry in the tired series sees the titular continental drift separating our familiar trio from Manny`s mate and daughter, Ellie (Queen Latifah) and Peaches (Keke Palmer).
The gang run into some pirates along the way, as well as a potential love interest for Diego, in the form of Shira (Jennifer Lopez), his sassy female counterpart, who also happens to be first mate of a pirate crew captained by a murderous ape called Captain Gutt (Peter Dinklage).
Unfortunately, this latest installment in the series proves to be unimaginatively constructed, with a rehashed separation plot and a sub-narrative about teenage rebellion that`s so cloyingly pious it verges on the annoying. The nautical hijinks of the original trio comes across as unimaginatively flaccid, despite an enthusiastic attempt by the cast to inject some life into the formulaic plot.
While the youngest of kiddies may be amused by the onscreen hijinks, Ice Age 4: Continental Drift smells irrevocably of `done-before`, a paint-by-the-numbers animation flick that`s depressingly low on laughs. But what of the witty charm that characterized the series` earlier installments, you may ask? Evaporated, extinct, gone the way of the dodoâ€