Coyote vs. Acme is directed by Dave Green, and this is easily his best work to date. Some of that credit belongs to Samy Burch, the Oscar-nominated writer whose screenplay gives the film enough personality to keep it entertaining. All that praise aside, Coyote vs. Acme is fun but ultimately nothing particularly special. The film is appropriately silly for a Looney Tunes movie, but the pacing is its biggest problem. At 103 minutes, it feels noticeably longer than it needs to be, and cutting it down to around 90 to 95 minutes would have made the movie considerably tighter.
Will Forte is easily the best casting choice in the film. He fits the comedic tone perfectly and brings the right amount of energy to a movie that depends heavily on its absurdity. John Cena, on the other hand, is easily the worst casting choice. His performance is so wooden that it feels like he's barely trying, and he seems to be phoning it in throughout most of the movie. It's especially noticeable when he's sharing scenes with actors who are clearly more committed to the material.
Eric Bauza is another standout, particularly because he provides the recognizable voices associated with the Looney Tunes characters. He understands exactly what makes those voices work and helps maintain the cartoon's identity whenever they appear. The voice work is one of the more enjoyable aspects of the film and reminds you that, underneath everything else, this is still supposed to be a Looney Tunes movie.
Overall, Coyote vs. Acme is an entertaining but fairly average comedy. Dave Green does good behind the camera, and Samy Burch provides a solid screenplay, while Will Forte and Eric Bauza are particularly well suited to the material. Unfortunately, John Cena's lackluster performance and the longer than needed runtime hold it back. It's silly in exactly the way you'd expect from a Looney Tunes movie, but it could have been much better with a tighter edit. Result: C+
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