A bomb-sniffing beagle is fired from the mayor's office for a faux pas. That night a mad scientist dognaps him and injects him with an elixir. The dog escapes, but now has superpowers. He's adopted by a security guard - an ex-cop, who's a widower with a moody teen son, Jack. The boy discovers that the dog, named Shoeshine by dad, has super powers, but it's their little secret. While Underdog saves people in distress, the mad scientist and his underling continue their plot to catch him and take over the city. There's also a girl Jack likes who has a dog that Shoeshine takes a shine to. Will every dog have his day? A Beagle must use his newly-bestowed superpowers to defend Capitol City from mad scientist Simon Barsinister. Underdog is the newest breed of TV-shows-turned-movies (Alvin and the Chipmunks is coming soon), and it succeeds far more than it has any right to. Jason Lee seems to have an amazing amount of fun, and the other cast members look like they're having a blast. Underdog ends up being loads of fun, especially for a little children's movie. It has everything to satisfy the youngsters, and it is full of grown-up jokes and humor; it's short and sweet, and never drags itself out to much, which seems to be the case with other films in the genre (Garfield: The Movie, anyone?) Underdog is directed by Frederik Du Chau, who also directed the forgettable and dull Racing Stripes and the underrated animated flick, Quest for Camelot.<br/><br/>After seemingly failing at everything, a beagle named Shoeshine obtains super powers after a lab accident. He befriends a young boy, who helps him come up with a secret identity, and the dog eventually becomes the superhero Underdog. As Shoeshine learns about his new powers and accepts his abilities, he must face Dr. Barsinister and his evil henchman, Cad, to save the town after they become obsessed with obtaining his DNA.<br/><br/>The acting and the quirky humor are the best parts about the film, although some of the jokes don't really stick. There are several fun gags and characters scattered throughout the film, although Underdog himself clearly takes center stage. The special effects were also superb, and the voice acting (and normal acting) is perfect. While it does have some similarities to many other films in the genre, it does things in such a fashion that everything seems new again! Overall, Underdog was a very cute and enjoyable movie. It won't be winning awards or anything, but it was a very fun summer movie that kids and adults will like. My expectations were pretty low, but the movie surprised me with its smooth direction, a great cast, and pretty good story. While it wasn't as fleshed-out as it could have been, they might have done this intentionally. I think I smell a sequel in the near future, and I would welcome it with it open arms! This premise showed a lot of promise, and hopefully the sequel could improve upon the original, although it is great as it is. Underdog was a great family film, although far from being perfect. 7/10 I'm not certain were all the bad reviews on this film are coming from. I can only imagine that Die hard fans of the cartoon couldn't transition to live action. This film was loads of fun and I laughed my A$$ off. With maybe a slight change in persona for some of the characters like Bar Sinister, Riff Raff and Polly, and some major improvements on Cad, it was a good representation of taking a cartoon character to the big screen. Everyone in the theater from children to adults, liked the film. My only negs where I liked the old Bar Sinister character and maybe he was a little too different for me, also (small spoiler here) I felt Jim Belushi's character should have had more to do in the end sequence. I say if you liked the cartoon, or just like the idea of a talking super hero dog, see the film!! The movie isn't nearly as bad as you would expect when the studio holds its only press screening the night before a national opening.
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