Review of The BFG (2016) by Caleb M — 17 Jul 2016

Steven Spielberg is that only man who can bring real mysticism and enchantment back to film. Where this movie succeeds, it succeeds greatly. The tone, the atmosphere; it's all impeccable in its visual and tonal craftsmanship. But since this movie is an adaptation, they had to stay true to some of the lesser story beats. I can tolerate the fact jokes as they are quick and relatively painless. But the one thing that I remembered from the book that I hoped would be left out was the ending. When you mix a world of magic and enchantment with military helicopters and foot soldiers, the awe and wonder of the world starts to fall apart. I feel like I wouldn't hate it as much as I do if there was an immediate threat from the other giants. They're just dumb bullies. There's no tension in the conclusion. You can't even say that you get some cheap action thrills because the climax of the movies lasts 2 minutes. I'd say that that's a welcomed change from the more modern, overblown, hour long climaxes that we get in action movies nowadays. But having a climax that you could miss in one bathroom break isn't any better than the alternative. I think that the scene where the BFG meets the Queen is well done and offers some genuinely funny set ups. But the comedic moments are almost completely overshadowed by the fact jokes.

Mark Rylance utterly perfect in this role. I haven't read the book in years, but his performance is pitch perfect. There was never a split second where I thought that he was some guy in a CGI suit reading dialogue off of a script. His speech impediment, the pauses, the "ums", the imperfections in the way he talks make the character so much more believable. I would say that he carries the entire movie if it weren't for Ruby Barnhill as Sophie. What a delight to see a child actor who can actually act. So many child actors feel like the kids of one of the crew members; someone who's never acted before in their life. But Ruby Barnhill is fantastic. Some of the lines do feel rather forced, but even that feels more the fault of the script than the actress. The chemistry between her and Mark Rylance is so amazing and since they are together for most of the movie, that's a great thing.

Almost all of this movie's flaws deprive from the source material. I really wish that they had taken some creative liberty and rewritten the ending. But I can understand the need to stay true to the source material. But this movie excels in its atmosphere. I love what this movie gets right so much that everything it does wrong is an after thought.