IF - Gli amici immaginari

Imaginary Friend is a movie likely to appeal to kids and some adults as well. I admit the movie has an interesting concept which could have been made a bit more interesting and happening than it turned out to be.

John Krasinski teamed up with his old pal Ryan to make this family friendly movie after A Quiet Place but the movie takes quite some time to take off and mashes up what could have been a more fun and action filled fantasy adventure rather than just an emotional rollercoaster.

Some of the IFs imaginary friends, although colorful and happy, could have been used a tad more and could have made this movie more adventurous and funnier than it turned out to be.

I am 70 years old and my wife is right there with me. My childhood was filled with movies that entertained, made you sad, made you happy, and sometimes really made you think. Seems like lately, movies have dropped the "entertaining" part in order to lecture you on a variety of social issues. It's still possible to find movies that do what movies were supposed to do but they are rarely from the major studios (Unsung Hero, Arthur the King, The Shift).

However, what a delight THIS movie is.... It makes you run the gamut of emotions from sadness to anticipation to thinking you know what's going to happen to having your heart warmed :)

We absolutely loved this movie and will probably see it again before it leaves the theater.

On a side note, I continue to be amazed by these young actors who can display such a wide range of emotions. Much like Alisha Weir in Abigail, Cailey Fleming absolutely nailed the role.

If you want a family friendly movie to take your kids to, this one is it!

This was a visually stunning and whimsical movie. It had a star studded cast with Ryan Reynolds, John Krazinski and Steve Carell. In fact it could have done without a star playing the dad I thought, as this detracted from the emotional opening scene. The movie felt boring at times for the first two-thirds, despite the interesting concept of the story; I think it lacked suspenseful direction in the plot development. Ryan Reynolds had about three great funny moments, all of which are in the trailer, and it's a shame he wasn't able to bring a bit more of this well known personality into the film throughout. The last third was definitely the highlight of the movie and did get more exciting and definitely heightened the emotion of the movie.

I must admit, the first half hour had me questioning if I was wasting my time. I was confused about the vast demographics the film was trying to appeal to. Maybe there could've been some improvements there.

Once the 2nd act started, I slowly started to find myself more and more invested in the characters. However, I was still questioning potential plot holes in the story and the films demographic.

During the 3rd act, it really tied itself together and started to make a lot more sense. I want to rewatch it knowing how well it ends, similar to a Christopher Nolan film. I'm curious what a child would think of this film because it deals with some adult themes and subject matter that only an adult would relate to. It isn't crude, it's very family friendly. A child might find it slow and boring at times. The moral of the film might go over a child's head but there's plenty of humour and subject matter aimed at children.

Overall, I was very impressed with this film, and I'll be watching it again. Take your kids to it. If they don't enjoy it now, it'll definitely have a completely different meaning to them in 10, 20, or 30 years. As an adult, you'll almost definitely enjoy it.

At the beginning, the movie took time to get rolling, but from the middle, the movie becomes very interesting. The mix of live action and animation is very well done, the characters are fun and the story is imaginative. I'll be clear here: Anyone crying out for a movie with an original idea should watch IF. IF is not based on anything and is not a movie from an existing franchise. The colors of this movie were gorgeous and I really liked the look and you are literally drawn into this imaginative world. To the actors, especially Ryan Reynolds, who played well with invisible characters in this case the IF's.