Bolt

Review by Anthony Morris
Watch Trailer : Bolt

Bolt (the voice of John Travolta) is an action hero supreme, able to take on an army of bad guys with his various super powers as he protects his mistress Penny (Miley Cyrus) from, well, an army of bad guys led by the evil Doctor Calico (Malcolm McDowell). 

Or at least, that's what Bolt thinks is going on. 

The reality is a little less impressive...

It seems that Bolt is the star of a action TV series where everyone around him knows it's fake but he is kept in the dark because, as the director puts it, "if the dog believes it, the audience will believe it". 

Unfortunately, the audience isn't believing it like they used to and ratings are slipping, so they introduce a new element : cliffhanger endings. 

For a dog trained to think he has amazing abilities, the idea of waiting a whole day to save Penny doesn't really work for him, and before anyone can stop him he is out in the real world on the other side of the country on a rescue mission. 

What follows is a CGI version of Milo and Otis with a lot more action (and wisecracks) as Bolt teams up with streetwise stray cat Mittens (Susie Essman) on a cross country journey back to Penny. 

Pretty much everything here works : the opening action sequences are as over-the-top exciting as you could hope for, the jokes when Bolt hits the real world and gradually learns his powers just don't work are rock-solid, and the sentiment during the final act (as Bolt learns that his super-powers are fake, the obvious question is : was his relationship with Penny fake too?) is, well, pretty heavy handed, but at least the film earns it. 

It's a busy time of year for kids movies, but this one is running well ahead of the pack.

4 out of 5