I love this movie. I was so excited when they announced it about three years ago, and was even more excited when the day finally came for me to see it. I abandoned my roommate on a Friday night to go see the premiere showing and walked away with the biggest smile on my face.
I like how the creators took the story of the very first game and revamped it, keeping it the same while also adding new elements to it. I thought that Quark's betrayal, while premature in comparison to the games, was a great route to take with the film, as it helped Ratchet's character development and maturity move along at a believable pace. I like that Grim was introduced as Ratchet's caretaker. It makes much more sense than the first game, when he's a fifteen-year-old who has essentially raised himself from before he could walk, even. I like that Clank's introduction is almost a complete parallel to his introduction in the games, and that the two's meeting went about the same as well. I think that from there the story moved along at a good pace, with a perfect balance of action and non-action scenes. (The references to the many, many types of weapons and tools was fantastic, by the way. I was so glad to see the holo-guise used in this film.)
One thing I'm kind of torn about is Dr. Nefarious. Of course I know him from the games and am familiar with his backstory, but seeing him pre-robot for 99% of this movie was very strange and took some getting used to, even after I'd seen it once already. While it was a look I wasn't used to, I did still very much enjoy his role in the film - those little smirks were the best! And when he finally did have that one glorious scene at the end as his robot self, it was FANTASTIC. That was the greatest end scene I could have ever asked for! (I may or may not have been fangirling in my seat during that final scene.)
Something I didn't particularly like about this movie was the addition of the Galactic Rangers. While Captain Quark has been known to work with other heroes in teams before, there has never been a consistent group that he has led like he did in this movie. I didn't like that Ratchet was so eager to become like Captain Quark when he can't stand the guy in the games. Of the actual rangers introduced, the only character I kind of liked was Elaris, and only because she preferred to think things through rather than bust down the door and start shooting without any preparation. While they were a good fit for the movie, I didn't really like them as characters. I also hated that Ratchet and Clank's induction into the Galactic Rangers had them working separately a lot rather than together. It distracted them from being able to grow a close friendship like we see in the games.
Which leads me into my final point. The ending of this movie (that epic end scene with Nefarious!) left it totally open for a sequel, should the developers decide to make one. I think they should, personally. It would give them a chance to expand on Nefarious' evil like they do in the games, this time without the "backseat" bad guy of Chairman Drek. It would also give them an opportunity to veer away from the Galactic Rangers' story and focus more on the adventures of Ratchet and Clank together, allowing the characters to have a better chance for their friendship to grow. (While I loved that Clank came back to stay with Ratchet in the end, he really had no reason to. He barely knew Ratchet. His mindset was probably something along the lines of, "My mission is completed. Ratchet was the first person I met, and he helped me, so maybe I should stay with him now." But that was it. He didn't really stay because they were good friends.) I also think it would be neat to see the developers expand on the story of the Lombaxes and what happened to them, or go into further detail about why Clank was a defect (though that may not be valid anymore due to his altered backstory). The games have excellent plots for both that would be amazing to see on the big screen!
Overall, despite the movie's much lighter tone and kid-friendly plot, I thought that the movie adaptation of Ratchet and Clank was awesome. I loved every minute of it and am proud to own it now. The subtle references to other characters and plots of the games throughout the movie were great. I especially liked cameo at the very, very end of the credits. (If you follow the games, you know who shows up.) I am very much hoping for a sequel!
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