Quartile rating: 5/10 · 1 rating
When Phil and Debbie Winslow relocate from their native Kansas to the sunny climes of Orange County, their big-hearted, havoc-wreaking Great Dane gets a taste of the dog's life, California-style.
Marmaduke is a fairly generic family comedy adapted from a long-running but thin comic strip. The plot follows predictable fish-out-of-water and social-hierarchy beats with little surprise. Acting is serviceable but unremarkable, with voice performances and live-action humans both delivering by-the-numbers work. Cinematography is standard bright suburban fare with nothing visually distinctive. Novelty is low — talking/acting dogs navigating social drama is a well-worn formula, and the film adds nothing fresh to it. The ending resolves everything neatly and predictably. Across the board it sits solidly in below-to-average territory with no standout category.