Ralph Breaks The Internet Review: 5 Ups & 4 Downs

3. The Disappointingly Generic Script

The movie's script, co-written by the previous film's scribe Phil Johnston, so often plays like a shell, a first draft that clearly needed to be hammered into something wittier, funnier and simply more interesting.

It gets some mild credit for not going the typical Disney route and introducing a secret villain in act three, but it falters by effectively Flanderizing the character of Ralph into a complete oaf in an otherwise admirable attempt to examine the effects of male insecurity (and, yes, toxic masculinity).

This leads to some extremely forced conflict being introduced in the final half-hour, leading to a wildly overblown finale that would've been more impactful with a smaller, more intimate scale. This just felt like typical blockbuster mayhem and was all the less gripping as a result.

That's not to ignore some bizarrely under-cooked subplots - one involving Fix-It Felix Jr. (Jack McBrayer) and Sgt. Calhoun (Jane Lynch) is especially malnourished - and a general feeling of listlessness.

The movie basically does just enough to skate by narratively, but for the most part it feels incredibly cookie-cutter and uninspired.

There are, believe it or not, portions of this film which are legitimately boring, and it hurts to say that.