Myself, Margie, Erik, our middle son, his wife and our 6 year old grandson Kaden went to see this today.
Recommendation: skip it. We all loved the book, but this adaptation just doesn't make the cut.
It's slow, discontinuous and just flat too Freudian. By the end of the film you hate Max regardless of his 10 second rapprochement with his mother (personally, I'd have taken him to the woodshed 5 minutes in). Erik hated it, Kaden fell asleep 30 minutes in (it was a matinee!!) and the adults were just flat disappointed. Had a distinct The Banana Splits look to it, but with a heavy dose of neurosis. During the show several younger kids in our area were crying, saying the monsters were too scary. Others were just bewildered at their mean demeanor.
It ends up being a big, fat letdown.
About 25% of the audience left early. We stayed, but on the way out of the theater we heard a lot of kids and parents voice similar opinions.
Production value: people in huge fuzzy suits with CGI faces, and more than once my son and I could tell where one ended and the other started. Others might not see it, but we sure did.
Recommendation: skip it. We all loved the book, but this adaptation just doesn't make the cut.
It's slow, discontinuous and just flat too Freudian. By the end of the film you hate Max regardless of his 10 second rapprochement with his mother (personally, I'd have taken him to the woodshed 5 minutes in). Erik hated it, Kaden fell asleep 30 minutes in (it was a matinee!!) and the adults were just flat disappointed. Had a distinct The Banana Splits look to it, but with a heavy dose of neurosis. During the show several younger kids in our area were crying, saying the monsters were too scary. Others were just bewildered at their mean demeanor.
It ends up being a big, fat letdown.
About 25% of the audience left early. We stayed, but on the way out of the theater we heard a lot of kids and parents voice similar opinions.
Production value: people in huge fuzzy suits with CGI faces, and more than once my son and I could tell where one ended and the other started. Others might not see it, but we sure did.
Comment