davidgouldthorpe

The movie starts interestingly enough, and the premise is really clever. But the rest of the movie just doesn't carry it. It talks about important events instead of actually letting us see them. It tells us that this and that person have an important deep bond, but we don't get any chemistry. The biggest developments in the plot only happen off-screen.

Directing just flat-out didn't work. The acting felt too muted, especially in scenes that called for more emotion, while the camera work made it so difficult to see what was on the screen.

I do have to say that there was a lot of clever writing with how the resistance pieces together their plan, and the espionage was mildly intriguing. But when new characters get brought in every few minutes, it's hard to really invest yourself in anything going on when you hardly know anyone.

Finally, a question I've already seen asked around: why aliens? This movie would be virtually identical if this was Nazi-occupied America, or a newly minted megacorporate state. There's hardly any science-fiction present in the movie. It's 2028, and alien contact occurred nine years ago. Police and special ops haven't received any upgrades to their equipment to keep the order? There's nothing to suggest that aliens inhabit this universe except for the fact we're reminded every ten minutes or so.

I had been really anticipating this movie, but I ultimately came away disappointed.

Mackenzie Foy tries her hardest here, and I enjoyed the one scene with Misty Copeland on stage. However, dialogue and story is beyond muddled. Internal logic makes no sense. Another fairy tale is now an edgy political commentary and an "epic war". World feels confined and claustrophobic. A bunch of tired Disney cliches surface here, like moping about dead mothers and Chosen One Princess. They even have a twist villain, because that's so beloved.

It's cynical and unpleasant. Too dull and scary for kids, too dumb for adults. If you're looking for the Nutcracker you won't find it here. Just go to the actual ballet, or watch the first Narnia movie

A Wrinkle In Time is a children's book by Madeleine L'Engle that blends science-fiction and fantasy. It's also remarkable for featuring a female protagonist with a majority-female supporting cast all the way back in 1962. It follows Meg Murry on a journey across the cosmos to rescue her father. The book's gentle thrills and spiritual themes have made it loved by many, including by myself. It's also quite surreal, dealing in abstracts and ambiguous descriptions. As a result it has long been considered "unfilmable." That word has never stopped filmmakers before though! So, now we get a crack at it directed by Ava DuVernay, with screenplay by Jennifer Lee and Jeff Stockwell. How did they do? Let's take a look and see...

A Wrinkle In Time opens with Meg, played by Storm Reid, remembering her father (Chris Pine). He disappeared four years ago, leaving no trace. She's ended up troubled at school, but while people around her have accepted that he's gone, Meg refuses to give up her hope. Her hope is rewarded when her younger brother Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) brings home a friend. This friend is a woman who calls herself Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon). She's joined by Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling) and Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey). She informs the kids that their father is, in fact, alive. But, he will need their help to escape the clutches of a cruel force known as the Darkness. Meg and Charles Wallace thus have to venture out, joined by Meg's friend Calvin (Levi Miller), to save him.

So first I want to praise the movie's strengths. Nowhere is it stronger than in the visuals. A Wrinkle in Time boasts delightful scenery, and looks wonderful at every angle. The effects used for the tesseracts - pathways that allow instant travel around the cosmos - look fun and surreal. I found myself especially impressed by the planet Uriel, a utopian garden world with soaring mountains and lush plant life. Between the visual artists, costuming, and make-up, a lot of people deserve to feel proud of their work here...

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