The Nut Job Review

This film is a pun in want of a plot. The title refers to a plan cooked up by Surly (Will Arnett), a lone squirrel who plans to steal a huge store of nuts from the basement lair of a group of criminals who are themselves planning to rob a bank. It’s a wishy-washy idea that never gels. It hits the same beats repeatedly — breaking into or out of a cellar — and there’s an unappealing aggression in its tone, hardly what you’d expect given the target demographic. As illustration of the level of originality at work here, it ends with an animated Psy performing Gangnam Style. For no reason. In 2014.