I wanted to like this, I did. I'm trying not to be a grumpy old man. Is it because I'm old? Would I simply have not liked this if I was twelve.
There are some good bits - the visuals are amazing and clever. Some of the action scenes, the ones where you're in a video game, are very good. The effects people did an excellent job. I liked the nuttiness of The Shining sequence.
But I didn't like it. The future the film is set in is depressing - full of grime and slums and everyone is desperate for escape by playing video games. Instead of improving water or jobs or life (or even just good old fashioned over throwing an evil government) the stakes are about ensuring access to the main game people play - and that an Evil Corporation don't take it over and... charge money.
Spielberg seems to struggle to get the tone right - it's as if he's second guessing himself as director. I got confused by the pop culture stuff - it was meant to be stuff that inspired Mark Rylance, right? But it was such a grab bag of stuff - music and The Shining and so on. It didn't feel as though it had any thematic consistency (maybe I'm missing something).
The heroes were depressing - kids who play video games all day and are obsessed with the Steve Jobs like guy played by Rylance who was a nerdy idiot. And really, no one else figured out clues.
I wasn't wild about the acting. Tye Sheridan was annoying; they throw in an overacting aunt and her lover who beats up Sheridan. Mark Rylance's performance was ticks and wigs and gestures. Simon Pegg doesn't save the day. Ben Mendhelson does okay in bits but Hannah John Kamen goes over the top and when she and Mendo get together it all gets silly and campy. I did like the other kids, such as Olivia Cooke (she's flawed! she has a birthmark!)
It was just kind of depression. Poor script with endless narration, insufficient dramatisation.
No comments:
Post a Comment