A blast from Ben’s past returns to do double the damage on Team Tennyson and planet Earth itself, forcing Ben to go interstellar to save the day.
While I applaud the Cartoon Network for this space odyssey that appeals to all ages, there seems to be a lack of consistency in getting to the point. The first twenty minutes seems to be filled with purpose as Ben (Tara Strong), Gwen (Montzw Hernandez), and Grandpa Max (David Kaye), work together as Team Tennyson to protect Planet Earth. When things start to go awry on deck, Ben decides he needs to go interstellar to protect all they have worked for in the universe. When Ben spazzes out to go it alone in the galaxy, he suddenly disappears off radar and Gwen refuses to accept that he could be gone forever so she solicits a totally uncooperative Kevin 11 (Greg Cipes) to help return him to the planet.
Kevin, who is seemingly self-absorbed, doesn’t want to be bothered with the team unless he gets the power to his hand-gadget restored. The next forty-nine minutes is spent showcasing Ben’s unlucky interactions with the Omni-kix posse who believe that Ben is Vilgax (Yuri Lowenthal) and has come to take control over them. While Ben thinks it is humorous for them to think he is Vilgax, his intergalactic enemies are slowly getting fed up with his youthful resistance. While Ben tries to undermine their intelligence, Bounty Hunter Tetrax (Dee Bradley Baker) and Captain Calamari try to take matters into their own hands. Kevin 11, whose mission was to save Ben, seems to find the job more difficult than his youthful arrogance can handle. Mr. Phil (John DiMaggio) as part of Team Tennyson, is employing all his scientific faculties in order to find out what the real Vilgax is up to and the infighting gets worse before anyone can get to Ben to protect him. In the end, Vilgax’s need for power exposes him as the real culprit, and Ben’s naysayers apologize for the mixup and assist with his return to earth as a measure of goodwill.
While the intricate costumes and tech-savvy space gear give this film an interesting lift, there seems to be a lot of confusion and unnecessary fluff that takes away from its entertainment value. For all the glory spent on creating the “null void” in intergalactic space, the worldly logic in leading up to something sensible in a court of law goes straight out the window.
Now available on DVD
