To some degree, A Wrinkle in Time may be considered Disney's best achievement in diversity and novel adaptation. But to a much larger degree, this film is really an empty shell covered with layers of special effects. There still remains a good chunk of enjoyable elements, but the bad immensely outweigh the good. This movie is plagued with many issues including a lack of decent story, strange timing, bad directing, and a misleading soundtrack.
I'll start with the things that I did like about this film, and I'll make it quick. The casting and diversity in this movie were amazing and the actors and actresses did fit their roles very well. It was amazing to see the family comprised of Chris Pine, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Storm Reid without any further-needed explanation. I really appreciate all of Disney's newfound inclusion, as it really depicts our society's reality quite well. Chris Pine and Zach Galifianakis were definitely the most outstanding performances in this film. The latter, while only in one scene, was the greatest part of this entire movie, which should be saying something. The last good part about this film that I enjoyed were the special effects and cinematography. They were both indeed beautiful, but it would appear that the $103 million budget went almost entirely to that aspect of this film. This leaves almost nothing to the writers, and that is painfully apparent. Every scene in this movie was written so awfully, and left me dazed and confused constantly. Why did Reese Witherspoon transform into a giant, flying artichoke? Your guess is as good as mine. There did not seem to be a clear goal for the protagonists other than finding their father, and this did not help with the minimal character development. In the beginning, when Charles Wallace initially introduces Mrs. Whatsit to her sister and mother, there is absolutely no explanation as to where they met or how this little boy knows her. This happens with the other two mystical beings as well, and it is left to the audience to decide how the boy found them, and that was not good for the story. I guess Charles Wallace had never heard of "stranger danger."
The wildly-gifted cast of Mindy Kaling, Reese Witherspoon, and the young performers including Storm Reid and Levi Miller would seem to shine. At least, that is what I believed would happen. However, all of their performances were very underwhelming, and I was not impressed at all. I am not sure if it was the mediocre directing or the awful pacing, but it seems like their acting was squeezed out at the last minute. It was all very rushed and not enticing in the slightest. Speaking of terrible acting, I am honestly disappointed in Oprah Winfrey. I adore her power as a public figure and inspirational woman but when it comes to being on screen, she just can't sell a line for her life, and it was painful for me to watch her try. Oprah's character seemed to serve as the most moral center of the film, but her lines along with the tone of the entire movie was overly inspirational. There were just countless moments of extremely cliche dialogue that made it feel like a TED talk muffled through an awful plot. I love Ava DuVernay, and while her intentions are pure, she put way too much emphasis on the message of love and acceptance rather than the already-thinning story. This did not assist the pacing of the film either, and has definitely left a harsh mark on DuVernay's resume.
Calvin, played by Levi Miller, might be my least favorite part of this film. I understand having a cute boy for the main protagonist to have a crush on, but he served no purpose other than the shitty romantic subplot. Every "pivotal" moment in the film could have easily happened without him, which is not a good sign for a supporting character. These confusing parts all added together for a jumbled cluster of nothing. In fact, the goal at the end of the film shifted from finding their father to restoring the siblings' relationship, which only added to my confusion. There were also many moments in the film that I feel could have been explored a lot more thoroughly, but instead were skipped over very quickly. The creepy scene in the synced-up neighborhood could have easily been a memorable part, but the focus was more on exploring as much of the universe as possible instead of developing what they already had. The more technical parts of the film that I despised were the use of the soundtrack and Michael Peña's horribly unnecessary white accent. The latter is pretty self-explanatory, but the music in this film was placed terribly. The soundtrack itself is very pleasant and catchy, but it was not smart to use these songs in some of the darkest scenes of the movie. I did not appreciate hearing an upbeat pop song over the disappearance of Chris Pine's character or the melancholy of Meg in the introduction.
Although Disney has almost become synonymous with quality, there are still a few poor exceptions that occur every few years. This film is just another in this unfortunate list, joining the ranks of Tomorrowland, John Carter, The Lone Ranger, and many others. It is a shame to see so much fantastic talent wasted on a film like this, and while I still appreciate the artists involved, A Wrinkle in Time will be an unforgettable mess. I would only recommend this film to small children who will not remember the plot whatsoever and are only focused on the pretty colors.
My Rating: ★½
No comments:
Post a Comment