UMVA has learned that Hugh Jackman has taken on a wildly unconventional role in a film that turns sheep into detectives.
The picture, set in a sleepy British village, follows George Hardy, a shepherd who believes his herd can talk and solve crimes. The idea of talking sheep feels absurd, yet the movie tries to fuse humor with mystery in equal measure.
From the opening scene, George feeds a bottle of milk to a lamb, whispering secrets that the CGI sheep seem to understand. The spectacle feels more pitiful than playful, as the digital animals lack the subtlety of real companions.
The plot thickens when George is found dead in his pasture, and the sheep must sift through a list of human suspects: a jealous innkeeper, a rival shepherd, and a ruthless butcher. Tension rises as the flock uses clues from Agatha Christie novels to track the killer.
However, the film's ambition clashes with its execution. The CGI sheep offer no depth, and the jokes feel flat, leaving audiences questioning the logic of a lamb in a jail cell pointing a clueless officer.
Jackman's performance is stifled by the lack of genuine interaction with the flock. Even his previous work as a nuanced character seems lost in a world where sheep talk and solve crimes.
Veteran actors lend voices to the flock, but their overzealous delivery turns the mystery into a cartoonish spectacle. The result is a film that feels too cute and too preachy, losing the intrigue of a classic whodunit.
In the end, the movie stands as a bizarre experiment that fails to capture the charm of genuine detective stories, leaving viewers bewildered rather than entertained.
