Angry Birds film fails to take flight

JUST like the phone download, The Angry Birds Movie is turning out to be a sleeper hit, toppling Captain America: Civil War from top spot in North America with its US$39 million opening. Worldwide, it has grossed more than US$155 million and counting.

But while the game took flight and gave players hours of mindless entertainment, this animated big screen cash-in feels like it has its wings clipped and fails to soar to the same dizzying heights.

Writer Jon Vitti (The Simpsons, Alvin and the Chipmunks) together with first-time directors Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly just about succeed in bringing the app's cuckoo premise - catapulting birds into a stack of pigs - to life with a dash of meta and slightly-rude humour but nothing really sticks.