The BFG - directed by Steven Spielberg
Screenplay: Melissa Mathison
Steven Spielberg has been very good at balancing out his career in terms of target audiences with plenty to cater for youngsters, mature audiences and everything in between.
With "The BFG" he is squarely in 'for the kids' mode.
His retelling of Roald Dahl's classic kids story is more "Hook" than "E.T" though - there isn't an awful lot here that will connect with the parents that take their children to see this.
Unfortunately there most likely isn't much that the kids will enjoy too much either.
The BFG is a very simple story.
A giant kidnaps a young girl named Sophie from an orphanage because she sees him one night and he needs to be sure that she will not reveal his existence.
Unlike the seven other giants that live in the distant land that he secretes her away to he doesn't eat human beings ('beans' the giants call them) so he will instead take care of her and hide her from the hungry seven.
That really is basically it.
The meat is in the detail.
The BFG collects dreams and can mix them to create custom dreams to be 'blown' into sleeping folk with a special staff horn.
Sophie doesn't dream because she doesn't sleep much but the BFG does have one of hers in his collection.
His lair is loaded with interesting things from those that he has collected to his sailing ship bed, stash of strange vegetables and his contraptions for making things.
The BFG also has an interesting way of talking.
He gets words wrong - sometimes complicated words like giraffe or hippopotamus but even simple ones often give him trouble.
He uses phrases like 'Out of Thick Ear' instead of "Into Thin Air'.
For much of the movies length (an overlong 2 hours) the film relies on these curiosities being interesting enough to entertain in lieu of actual plot.
They simply are not and I found myself getting restless.
Even a scene in which one of the rotten giant visits to threaten the BFG didn't do an awful lot to perk things up.
The voice work of Jemaine Clement is very good as this particular giant - 'Fleshlumpeater'.
It is Rylance as the BFG who steals the show however.
Thanks to some wonderful mo-cap and digital effects work courtesy of WETA Digital every wrinkle of Rylance's expressive performance is intact in the wonderfully realised creature.
The environments are also very good in great part due to the continued amazing work of long time Spielberg DP Janusz Kaminski.
The early scenes in which the BFG uses his surroundings and lighting to delightfully imaginative use in hiding from the people of the city are fantastic.
The wet, cobbled streets with pubs and shops and brick houses look amazing and the animation that sees the BFG silhouetting him like a tree or using his cloak to produce an instant dark hiding place is top notch.
But visual appeal and performances will only get you so far.
Far too long is spent with Sophie and the BFG talking and exploring.
As very, very little of Sophie's lot in the real world was shown before she was transported to the BFG's world it is hard to get a feel for her as a character.
How she reacts to the world and to the BFG would have had a lot more weight if there had been context.
She is an orphan but the details of this situation are not revealed.
Also left open are what sort of place the orphanage is.
Often these are bleak, horrible places in films such as this but for all the viewer knows it might be a perfectly acceptable and pleasant place.
Instead of these details to build up the character the film resorts to scene after scene of effects rich back and forth intended to make us invest in the duo.
I didn't find that I was.
Some relief comes around the 80 minute mark when a plan is hatched to deal with the increasing menace of the BFG's fellow giants but it all ends in a highly unsatisfying manner devoid of tension or excitement.
The plan does allow for the appearance of a very good Penelope Wilton as the Queen, Rafe Spall as Mr Tibbs the butler and the great Rebecca Hall as Mary her maid.
As much as I enjoy the work of all three the section in which they appear does little beyond further extending the movies length.
There is a nicely lowbrow scene of crowd pleasing humour to be fair but after that it is all downhill.
The climax is a tremendous disappointment..
Without spoiling anything the big build up amounts to about five minutes of action and a quickly bundled together conclusion scene that relies more on narration than the actual showing of anything.
I was left with a heap of questions.
Did anyone notice that Sophie was missing?
How long was she actually gone for?
Why are the Sophie and the BFG left the way that they are? Shouldn't they still be friends?
Questions like these shouldn't even pop into my head.
I should have been lost in the events and characters on screen.
Sadly, as pretty as this movie is it is far from Spielberg's or the late Melissa Mathison's best work.
Clearly the intention was to re-capture some of that "E.T" magic.
Instead they didn't even capture the mediocrity of the "Hook" 'magic'.
Disappointing.
RATING: 67 / 100
CONCLUSION: Proof that top notch special effects do not a good movie make. The BFG is a pretty but lifeless movie- dull and forgettable.
Starring: Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill, Rebecca Hall, Jemaine Clement, Bill Hader, Matt Frewer, Rafe Spall, Penelope Wilton, Olafur Darri Olafsson, Michael Adamthwaite, Adam Godley, Daniel Bacon, Haig Sutherland, Marilyn Norry, Paul Moniz de Sa, Chris Gibbs
Screenplay: Melissa Mathison
Music Score by: John Williams
Cinematography: Janusz Kaminski
Edited by: Michael Kahn
Running Time: 118 minutes
Language: English
Rated: PG - Nothing of note- possibly mildly scary for young viewers
Cinematography: Janusz Kaminski
Edited by: Michael Kahn
Running Time: 118 minutes
Language: English
Rated: PG - Nothing of note- possibly mildly scary for young viewers
Steven Spielberg has been very good at balancing out his career in terms of target audiences with plenty to cater for youngsters, mature audiences and everything in between.
With "The BFG" he is squarely in 'for the kids' mode.
His retelling of Roald Dahl's classic kids story is more "Hook" than "E.T" though - there isn't an awful lot here that will connect with the parents that take their children to see this.
Unfortunately there most likely isn't much that the kids will enjoy too much either.
The BFG is a very simple story.
A giant kidnaps a young girl named Sophie from an orphanage because she sees him one night and he needs to be sure that she will not reveal his existence.
Unlike the seven other giants that live in the distant land that he secretes her away to he doesn't eat human beings ('beans' the giants call them) so he will instead take care of her and hide her from the hungry seven.
That really is basically it.
The meat is in the detail.
The BFG collects dreams and can mix them to create custom dreams to be 'blown' into sleeping folk with a special staff horn.
Sophie doesn't dream because she doesn't sleep much but the BFG does have one of hers in his collection.
His lair is loaded with interesting things from those that he has collected to his sailing ship bed, stash of strange vegetables and his contraptions for making things.
The BFG also has an interesting way of talking.
He gets words wrong - sometimes complicated words like giraffe or hippopotamus but even simple ones often give him trouble.
He uses phrases like 'Out of Thick Ear' instead of "Into Thin Air'.
 |
| Mark Rylance and young Ruby Barnhill are excellent as the BFG and Sophie |
They simply are not and I found myself getting restless.
Even a scene in which one of the rotten giant visits to threaten the BFG didn't do an awful lot to perk things up.
The voice work of Jemaine Clement is very good as this particular giant - 'Fleshlumpeater'.
It is Rylance as the BFG who steals the show however.
Thanks to some wonderful mo-cap and digital effects work courtesy of WETA Digital every wrinkle of Rylance's expressive performance is intact in the wonderfully realised creature.
The environments are also very good in great part due to the continued amazing work of long time Spielberg DP Janusz Kaminski.
The early scenes in which the BFG uses his surroundings and lighting to delightfully imaginative use in hiding from the people of the city are fantastic.
The wet, cobbled streets with pubs and shops and brick houses look amazing and the animation that sees the BFG silhouetting him like a tree or using his cloak to produce an instant dark hiding place is top notch.
But visual appeal and performances will only get you so far.
 |
| The visuals are gorgeous but can't make up for a weak script |
As very, very little of Sophie's lot in the real world was shown before she was transported to the BFG's world it is hard to get a feel for her as a character.
How she reacts to the world and to the BFG would have had a lot more weight if there had been context.
She is an orphan but the details of this situation are not revealed.
Also left open are what sort of place the orphanage is.
Often these are bleak, horrible places in films such as this but for all the viewer knows it might be a perfectly acceptable and pleasant place.
Instead of these details to build up the character the film resorts to scene after scene of effects rich back and forth intended to make us invest in the duo.
I didn't find that I was.
Some relief comes around the 80 minute mark when a plan is hatched to deal with the increasing menace of the BFG's fellow giants but it all ends in a highly unsatisfying manner devoid of tension or excitement.
The plan does allow for the appearance of a very good Penelope Wilton as the Queen, Rafe Spall as Mr Tibbs the butler and the great Rebecca Hall as Mary her maid.
As much as I enjoy the work of all three the section in which they appear does little beyond further extending the movies length.
There is a nicely lowbrow scene of crowd pleasing humour to be fair but after that it is all downhill.
 |
| There is great support from (l-r) Rebecca Hall, Penelope Wilton and Rafe Spall |
Without spoiling anything the big build up amounts to about five minutes of action and a quickly bundled together conclusion scene that relies more on narration than the actual showing of anything.
I was left with a heap of questions.
Did anyone notice that Sophie was missing?
How long was she actually gone for?
Why are the Sophie and the BFG left the way that they are? Shouldn't they still be friends?
Questions like these shouldn't even pop into my head.
I should have been lost in the events and characters on screen.
Sadly, as pretty as this movie is it is far from Spielberg's or the late Melissa Mathison's best work.
Clearly the intention was to re-capture some of that "E.T" magic.
Instead they didn't even capture the mediocrity of the "Hook" 'magic'.
Disappointing.
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