I probably have the worst first impression of the Smurfs
possible, as my first full-length encounter with them was through the 2011
film. Directed by the numbnuts that gave us the ever-popular comedic classic
Beverly Hills Chihuahua, the live-action Smurfs film is easily one of the
hardest films I’ve ever sat through. Thankfully, it didn’t fall into my purview
for reviews, because I’m fairly certain it would’ve just been “fuck this movie”
repeated 300-some times. I completely skipped the sequel, wanting to keep what
little sanity I have left, and then the trailers for today’s film hit… and you
cannot possibly imagine how much relief washed over me when I saw that this was
not only a full CGI production but that it was a reboot of the series.
Going
against what most would consider common sense, those two prospects combined
with the phenomenally low bar the Raja Gosnell films set for the IP actually
made me hopeful that this would be good. Given how this is the year that has
audience expectations in a 24-hour shooting gallery, I can only hope that my
optimism isn’t proven worthless.
