Review of The Book of Life (2014) by Calum B — 23 Feb 2015

The Book of Life is so close to greatness, yet so far. I liked the characters. I liked the scope. I loved the animation, one of the few times 3D animation is as stylized as 2D. A complete rewrite and an additional 20 minutes could have made Book of Life an 8 or higher. Sadly, Book of Life has one of the most atrocious scripts I've seen in the theater. Its a dumb, annoying, unfunny movie, built for the modern kid over the family.

I can't go into every grievance I have. I was fuming in the theater, and just blazing in the car. The framing device is pointless. The narration is completely unnecessary. They can't decide to criticize or embrace their love triangle. There's tons of stupid slapstick characters. Serious moments are ruined by jokes. Characters speak in modern lingo. Plot points are brought up and resolved with a hand-wave.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid! I feel like the writers should have taken a 101 college class, if only to learn "Show, don't tell!" Its humor lacks creativity or timing, and only hampers a relatively serious story. Book of Life is an inept train-wreck, saved by its artistry (I'm surprised it only cost $50 million).

Personally, I'd only recommend it for the die-hard fans of animation, or parents with nothing else to do. Its the most disappointing movie I've seen this year.