Tuesday, March 27, 2007

No matter what you read in any review, including mine, go see this The Last Mimzy.
I just went to this movie with my son (13), neice (16), and brother (43). Let me say from the very beginning, I enjoyed this movie immensely. You may not see that from the review you're about to read, so I just wanted to state it up front. Also be aware, there are SPOILERS ahead, so if you don't want the spoilers, stop reading!
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The movie had several flaws, and I'm going to bash them here, hard.

Number one, the movie is apparently set as a story being told by a teacher in the far, far future. However, the only references to the movie being a story are found at the very beginning, and the very end. That is, by far, the cheesiest and hokiest part of the entire film. It would have been better as a whole to drop those two scenes (although the cinematography in the far future scenes is beautiful, as is the countryside).

Number two, there is a scene toward the late-middle of the movie that introduces a new character played by Michael Clarke Duncan. He plays a Homeland Security director in Seattle. Now, there are some small problems with both the character, and the portrayal of the city of Seattle. First of all, they try to make the city seem... small, I suppose. The Homeland Security folks even make a point of asking why anyone would want to attack Seattle. Umm... huge population? Microsoft? Major corporate centers? That, along with other things, just seemed strange to someone like me, who lives in a town of 10,000. In addition to that, the introduction (and subsequent actions, and worse, INaction) of the Homeland Security folks just serves to make the entire sub plot pointless. They don't really DO anything. And at the end, after all is said and done, Duncan and the Homeland Security folks just... leave.

Number three, while we're shown this semi-interesting subplot about the elementary school teacher of the young male protagonist, it's hardly developed at all. The teacher (Dwight from The Office) has been having dreams for quite some time, and as it turns out, these dreams are directly connected to what's happening with the kids in this story. However... it NEVER EXPLAINS WHY! It never explores it one little bit. Here's this guy having prophetic dreams, and it relates to all this amazing, fantastic stuff going on, but we're never given an explanation as to why.

And, finally... we don't get closure! Or at least, not as much as I'd like. These kids develop interesting abilities and newfound intelligence... is it still there after it's all over? They suddenly have new insights into the way the world works, new ways of thinking. But we don't really know if any of this has had a lasting effect on them at all.

OK... so, all that being said... Go see this movie! The two kids are great, and the story itself, while having a few plot leaps that you have to pretend not to see, is engaging. The special effects are very, very well done, but not overused. They're not sparse, either. In fact, I'd say the quality of the SFX and the amount of effects use meld together to be near perfect.

So... A good movie. I'd give it a B to a B+.

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