THE BFG – Review

People without knowledge of the 1982 Roald Dahl novel might be wondering what BFG stands for. Allow me to clear this up in the case of the film… Big Flipping Disappointment! (I was going to use another word, but since this is a children’s movie…. I thought it best to keep things PG.)

Ten-year-old Sophie is an orphan with a fear of the things that go bump in the night. On one particular evening, after staying up far too late, she makes the mistake of checking out the window where she spots a giant scurrying about town. Since she was spotted, the giant had no choice other than to snatch her from her windowsill and take her home with him. While there, she learns just how lucky she is, since he is the only giant, the runt of the bunch, who doesn’t eat children. Together, they form a friendship and decide it’s time to stop his giant brethren from snatching and eating orphan children in her world.

Visually, THE BFG is incredible to look at. The scenery is incredible, and the BFG has incredibly kind eyes. There’s no doubt that Steven Spielberg knows what he’s doing on a visual front. With him bringing life to characters such as E.T., I really thought I would enjoy this film. He’s always been an incredible storyteller. Having said that, the story in THE BFG is missing something. I didn’t connect with Sophie (Ruby Barnhill), or anything going on in the story. Barnhill is exceptional as an actress, but they made her character stiff, and a bit whiny. There wasn’t a personal connection with the audience. Not enough for me to care.

Fact: I haven’t fallen asleep in a movie theater in over a decade. About 45 minutes in I dozed off for 20 minutes because I was bored to tears. Luckily, my twin sister was with me to assure me that I missed nothing, and that she, too, was bored.

The one scene that did grasp my attention was when they were hunting dreams by a tree. It was a beautiful sight to behold. I also give them props for sticking with the original language of the book. It couldn’t have been an easy task. Still, these things were not enough to keep me interested in the movie as a whole.

OVERALL RATING: 2 out of 5 stars (the 2 is for the visual effects)

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THE BFG is in theaters now