Review of Finch (2021) by Spartan_117 — 08 Nov 2021

Finch (2021) is an Apple TV+ film starring Tom Hanks as the titular character, a couple of robots, and a dog. Set on a post-apocalyptic Earth, it is about Finch and his companions trying to survive while they set on a journey for a better location.

I legitimately decided to watch it just because I saw a solo Tom Hanks with a Robot and a dog on the poster, thinking at worst it will be a middling watch. It turned out to be a heartwarming and somewhat original experience and I'm glad I made that jump.

Tom Hanks, to no surprise, delivers a poignant performance as an old survivor in a desolate landscape desperate to find some way of safeguarding his only biological companion, particularly in his absence, a doggo named Goodyear played wonderfully by Seamus.

He is also accompanied by a four-wheeled helping hand robot Dewey, and the best part of the film, Jeff, the humanoid bot with true artificial intelligence voice nicely by Caleb Landry Jones. Together, you set out on a journey with them that'll give make you laugh and give you the FEELS! Apart from the group, the thing I loved about this movie is that it sets itself apart from other films by focusing solely on the group and does not dive into what you'd normally expect from a post-apocalyptic setting.

The meat of the experience is from small subtle things instead of having big thrilling set pieces or the typical Human conflicts. Seeing Jeff learning what it means to be Human from Finch and Goodyear in his newfound conscience had me smiling most of the film.

I do wish the movie delve deeper into those Human elements and themes but I'm still satisfied with what I got. Directed by Miguel Sapochnik, who directed some of my favourite episodes from Game of Thrones, the movie is competently made.

It can be a looker at times. Written by a duo of newbies when it comes to feature-length films, Craig Luck and Ivor Powell, I admired their venture into doing something different with a setting that could have been by the numbers story.

Also, while understated, the musical score by Gustavo Santaolalla added a layer of poignancy to the entire experience, especially in key scenes. Now, it is almost 2 hours long, you hardly get any detours and instead just simmer in the experience, so the entire thing is slow-paced, which I can understand can be a turn off for a lot of people but for me, it just worked.

I was enthralled by it and was enjoying the characters and their journey. So if you get bored by slow-paced stuff easily, I wouldn't recommend it. Otherwise, I'd suggest giving it a try, the movie might surprise you.

You leave it feeling content. A slice of life experience in a post-apocalyptic world. Something original or different, at least for me. And if I were to rate it, I'd give it a solid 8/10.