Hey everyone we are back with another movie review! Today we
are talking about A Wrinkle In Time, a movie adapted from the Madeline L’Engle
book of the same name. As usual, no spoilers ahead.
Going into this movie, I was the only one of the four of us
that had read the book beforehand. So I obviously based my thoughts of the film
on how it compared to the book and looked for those little nods and whatnot
that a fan would. So there’s my bias, upfront like always. I’ve known these
characters for a long time and I was really excited to see how they would be
translated onto the big screen. And to be honest, I don’t quite get the really
negative reviews that I’m seeing.
The first big thing that you notice from that trailers is the
visuals. And they are grandiose. The locations are gorgeous and fascinating and
everything is so colorful and full of life in the places that are supposed to
be, but even the darker places are big and spectacular in their darkness. I
never went ‘euch, that looks bad’. It was a stunning movie to look at.
The second thing is
the acting. I thought all the actors did really well at embodying their
characters. From the very first scene he was in, I thought Deric McCabe was perfect as Charles Wallace, Meg’s brother. He totally nailed it. As did Storm
Reid and Levi Miller as Meg and Calvin, respectively. I loved their
interactions and how their relationship to one another developed over the film.
Aw man, every time Calvin looked at Meg, it was too perfect. Another standout
to me was Chris Pine as Meg and Charles Wallace’s dad, Dr. Murry. I thought it
was great casting from the trailers and it really was. There wasn’t as much of
Gugu Mbatha-Raw as their mother (also Dr. Murry), but she did really well with
what she had. And this was a better movie than the last one I saw her in (as I
squint at The Cloverfield Paradox on my movie list).
That brings me to
the three ‘Mrs.’s’; Reese Witherspoon (Mrs. Whatsit), Mindy Kaling (Mrs. Who)
and Oprah Winfrey (Mrs. Which). First off, they definitely look different than
in the books. That’s a given from the trailers alone. The costumes are
gorgeously, extravagantly elaborate though, and I loved just looking at them. They fit the feel of their personalities, though. Mrs. Who
may not have all the same quotes as before, Mrs. Whatsit is perhaps even more
flighty, but the essence of it is there.
Again, I don’t understand where all this
negativity is coming from. I would say that the target audience for this film
seems to skew on the younger side and I don’t know if that has something to do
with it. Are we just too cynical as adults for a story about embracing
ourselves, even our faults, and that love is what is needed to drive out the
darkness? Because that stuff was in the book too. Were they looking for a more
nuanced villain, because this isn’t the place for that, either. The villain in
this story is about as nuanced as A
New Hope Darth Vader. And you know
what, that worked fine for me. It’s a good vs. evil. If you want sympathetic
baddie, Black Panther is still out there slaying the box office.
Now I’m not going
to sit here and say it’s a perfect movie. I’ve yet to find one that is. So here
we go. There is a sequence missing from the movie that was in the book. I
understand from and story and film perspective why it was cut but it means I
didn’t get to see a character I wanted to see except for a very quick glimpse.
They also don’t really explain tessering at all, it just sort of happens. The
part in the trailer where they talk about it isn’t in the final film. The home
of the villain is also very different and a lot more… convoluted and almost
chaotic. It would’ve been interesting to see that planet as was described in the
book and have that reflection to our own world. The part that they did show that was the same was so friggin’ eerie and I loved it. I suppose
it made things more exciting, but it loses a bit of the impact of what Camazotz
is and the influence of IT. Speaking of IT, I did like how they changed what IT was/looked like. IT, in the book
is (spoiler) a giant, disembodied brain and I just don’t think that would quite
translate onto screen that well. I get flashbacks of Star Fox 64.
 |
| *shudders* |
So, in conclusion, I liked this movie. I think it was well
worth a watch and I would certainly recommend it. I really don’t think it’s as
bad as some of the reviews I’ve seen. Then again, I’ve seen some weird hangups,
like one review hated that they called Charles Wallace just that through the
movie. That person obviously was unfamiliar with the source material. Charles
Wallace’s name is never shortened or is ever called by a nickname. I just thought
it was a weird complaint. I say see it for yourself, it’s a beautiful movie
with a message we could really use more of and see more of in our world.
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