chipmonkey75

My 2.5 year old probably watches a bit more TV than I'd like, but when I saw this pop up I put it on and it was a FABULOUS movie for him.

There are some moments that are scary (the trailer and cover art already give away that there is a lot of water and hold-your-breath moments), and one scene where one of the characters gets hurt - intentionally by others - at the end of an otherwise fairly straightforward animal fight scene that had our kid concerned.

But the fact that there is no dialogue means that we got to discuss what was happening without really interfering with the film, and there is a lot to discuss. Much of the film is open to interpretation, and our son was very engaged in hoping things went well for everyone, and asking questions about what was happening.

It's probably not for everyone, but it was really great for us.

I waited to watch this on streaming due to the press, but I really thought "it couldn't be this bad, right"? Wrong. Everything about this is just surprisingly bad except possibly Rachel Zegler's voice and the Whistle While you Work scene and the final song. Oh and the Evil Queen's "Old Lady" makeup is really quite good.

But the rest, no... even the writing is weird. The word "fair" was used way too much in the first five minutes as if the writers just couldn't get enough of pointing out the dual meaning.

Then there was the cognitive dissonance of snow white wearing what amounts to a sun dress while next to a man who was sentenced to freeze to death.

Heigh Ho started out good, but got ruined (what's this about magic hands that went nowhere)? And why did you need to be magical to find gems, that whole mountain was nothing BUT gems. And what did the dwarves DO with them? What did the Evil Queen DO with them?

And what was up with Gal Gadot's, well... do we call that dancing? And singing and facial expressions when she confronted the huntsman? I just can't even imagine the directing lines she was given (we know she can act from other movies - something else is amiss here).

Anyway, no. Just no. Go watch the original.

I really enjoed watching Ryan Masson and Highdee Kuan in this. Ryan really captures the satellite NASA tech vibe while still being a whole person, not just the one-dimensional geek trope. And the two of them interact in realistic ways given everything going on around them. And Don Scribner's presence really elevates the movie.

That said, the Men-In-Black group really pulled the movie down for me. There were some choices I will try not to spoil, but the spiritual undertones really jump out of nowhere late in the movie in what feels like a forced way and also drag it down a bit I think.

But there's much to enjoy. I did ALMOST stop watching ten minutes in when the person who calls himself a video enthusiast just stops filming the biggest visual event of his life. But it gets better. Fun movie worth a watch if you're deep into the alien abduction genre.