Warning: There will be plenty of spoilers. Also, I base my reviews not on cinematography, directing, or anything fancy - I base it on emotion; did the film leave me with positive vibes or not? Let's dive in.
I left the theater about six hours ago and the more I think about what I watched, the more disappointed I get. The filmmakers had six years to work on something special. What we got is what most people can agree on base on the trailers for the film; a film that is not going to age well. That is obviously due to it being about modern day internet technologies and businesses. What's in business today is gone tomorrow. The tech we use to get on & off the internet changes from decade to decade. While I didn't expect the filmmakers to try and play up the nostalgia factor the way they did in the first one, I did hope they would make a film that would be somewhat.... timeless. Wreck it Ralph will not be dated for a while. With that said, they did begin and end this film in the classic arcade setting which I like and I am familiar with, but as you'll see, even that is not going to seem right. Let me explain. (Here come the spoilers)
To make a long story short, Ralph screws up Vanellope's Sugar Rush game and as a result, they must seek out a new steering wheel for the arcade cabinet other wise Mr. Litwak will have to get rid of it by the end of the week. Where to find a rare part like that? On the internet and specifically, eBay, of course.
Money, the lack of it, becomes an issue and they try some get-rich schemes to get some to pay for the ridiculously high-priced auction they won for the Sugar Rush steering wheel. Vanellope (I'm REALLY cutting out a lot) comes to the realization that she wants more out of life than just racing in Sugar Rush. She wants to be part of a PC racing game called Slaughter Race. As you can imagine, it's the complete opposite of the sweet, fun world of Sugar Rush. I know, I know I shouldn't let this be the thing that bugs me, but THIS is the thing that bugs me. THIS is the thing that gets my emotional ticker.... ticking the wrong way.
See, Ralph does all kinds of things to screw up Vanellope's new dream of being in Slaughter Race and consequently almost destroys the internet in order to prevent her from going to that new game. The point of the movie is to support your friends and their dreams and/or wishes. But here's the thing, had Ralph not gone through all those shenanigans to get that money and win that steering wheel earlier in the film, all those characters from Sugar Rush would be homeless, heck, Vanellope seemed to lose interest in even saving Sugar Rush. Seems to me like she don't give a flying banana pie cause she's gotta a new dream and new friends in Slaughter Race! The film depicts Ralph as some needy, screw-up, but leaves out that perhaps Vanellope was being a bit frickin' selfish. After all, Sugar Rush was really about her... The game stars HER.
Near the end, we see the two say their goodbyes on the internet. That got me emotional like the filmmakers wanted. Then at the very end, we see Ralph in game central talking to Vanellope through their Skype holographic cellphone... thing and they are keeping in touch. That was supposed to be a warm, fuzzy ending. I must have missed something. Granted, I left a lot out, but the point is there.
Then there is this... Why does the story has to be about Ralph helping Vanellope, again? Can it never be just about Ralph? Are we never going to see Ralph team up with Samus, Mario & Link to explore the wasteland of Fallout? I'm just spit balling here.
I give this a 3 out of 5 stars, mostly for budget. And they got me choked up once, but left me befuddled when the film was done and angry several hours later.
On a side note, this is my favorite part of the original movie:
