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Why are those ‘Angry Birds’ so angry? The answer is both boring and nonsensical

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Why must these flightless birds be flung via slingshot at the homes of green pigs?

Two stars

The Angry Birds Movie Voices of Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Danny McBride. Directed by Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly. Rated PG. Opens Friday citywide.

No one who has played the mega-popular mobile game Angry Birds ever stopped to wonder, “Why are the birds so angry?” But the movie version decides to answer that and other unnecessary questions in its efforts to create a story around a series of basic, repetitive actions. Why must these flightless birds be flung via a slingshot at the homes of green pigs who stole the birds’ eggs? The answer is both boring and largely nonsensical, and expanding it into a cohesive, family-friendly movie proves too difficult a task for screenwriter Jon Vitti and directors Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly. The movie’s occasionally amusing puns and its over-talented voice cast don’t compensate enough for the meager story and the haphazard morals aimed at indiscriminating children. Game developer Rovio produced the movie itself in a bid to become a multimedia company, but if all it can come up with are variations on birds being angry, that bid is unlikely to pay off.

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