Another Mediocre Film That No One Asked For

Lyle Lyle Crocodile, starring Shawn Mendes and Javier Bardem, is an adaptation that's just unnecessary.

Intro

Lyle Lyle Crocodile is a live-action kids' comedy/musical film starring Shawn Mendes as Lyle the Crocodile. While Sony Pictures has been releasing several subpar films recently, I never expected them to stoop so low as to remake a beloved children's book into an unnecessary mediocre movie.

Plot

The film follows an aspiring magician/singer, played by Javier Bardem, who wants to win a big talent show. He fails over and over again until he meets Lyle, a singing crocodile who is in a pet shop. He buys Lyle as his pet, hoping Lyle will help him perform on stage and win the show. After an incident, they go their separate ways, and Lyle ends up living in an attic above a family who has just moved in. The rest of the movie follows Lyle as he becomes friends with the boy who has moved in and everything they experience together. It's a straightforward, predictable plot, but at times, the film gets so random and disconnected that it seems as if the writers didn't even try to create a story that makes somewhat sense. The main question is, who wanted this movie to be made? My philosophy is that if you are going to make a film, make it the best film you possibly can and not just some quick remake/cash grab. No one asked for this movie, yet Sony went ahead and decided to release an unnecessary adaptation and butcher it.

Pros and Cons

Pretty much the only plus of this movie is Shawn Mendes singing. His voice sounds spectacular during the songs when "Lyle" is singing, but that's about as far as the pros go. One main con is that the film has too many meaningless songs. I know what you're thinking, but it's a musical; it's supposed to have songs. While that's true, there is a stretch in the movie where a short sad song is sung, and literally, 2 min later, they are singing a happy tune. The mood shifts and disconnectivity in the film are unbearable due to the random scattering of pointless songs that barely explain the movie. There may have been one or two songs that were substantial and made sense, but the rest were simply 30-second singing rehearsals by Mendes. While Javier Bardem and Brett Gelman gave pretty committed performances, the rest of the cast was average at best.

Closing Critiques

While this review may seem harsh for a child's film, after ripping off an iconic children’s book, this movie has just tarnished the book’s legacy. Filled with mediocre acting and unnecessary drama-filled scenes, Lyle Lyle Crocodile is just subpar and boring, even by kids’ standards.

Raving Rating: 5.9