iansquidish

An interesting mix of Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Team America: World Police that sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. This film doesn't pretend to be anything other than a raunchy comedy and doesn't hold back on the gross-out humor. Performances were a bit on the splotchy side and it's easy to tell the scenes where Melissa McCarthy is improvising vs. her scripted scenes. The actual puppeteering is very well done (I would expect nothing less given the involvement of Jim Hensons's son). Overall, the gimmick and little moments are more than enough to make up for the movie's shortcomings, making it very enjoyable, though still not any sort of masterpiece.

Nothing can hold a candle to the original stories or animated films, but Christopher Robin sets itself apart by telling a different type of story; one about the struggle of growing up, but maintaining a sense of childish wonder. The chemistry between Ewan McGregor and Jim Cummings, as Christopher Robin and Pooh Bear respectively, helps to inform the central juxtaposition between the simplistic optimism of youth and the cynicism of adulthood. All of the classic characters feel like themselves, cast in admittedly unnerving CGI, rather than a cheap imitation, which shows that the filmmakers had a genuine love for the source material.

25% well shot, exciting and fun action sequences; 75% cliche, pseudophylisophical dialogue about the dangers of technology. A well constructed B-movie plot in a movie that seems desperate to be taken seriously. Upgrade has some interesting elements, but is overall forgettable.