SPOILER-FREE MOVIE REVIEW
This movie really divided my opinion.
Coming from director Tim Burton, arguably one of the best directors around when it comes to visually stylistic films, this movie promised an immersive and highly imaginative world filled with treats for the eyes.
If you're watching the movie based solely on that sales pitch, then you'll be pleased. Apart from the visuals, however, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (I'll call the movie 'Miss Peregrine's' in short from now on cos its full title is just too bloody long) is one heck of a mixed bag.
Let's get right into it, shall we?
For starters, I'll talk about what I liked about the film.
I liked the vast scale of the production, be it in terms of the sets or the locations utilised. I thought that the film's main setting in some part of Wales was a really beautiful location with such lush greenery and old-fashioned cottage houses with a lovely view of the sea in the background.
The sets were very impressive too, with such lovely attention to detail put into most of the set pieces with the standout being Miss Peregrine's home.
I also liked the concept behind the story and the source material this movie had the privilege of lifting off of is so impressive and so imaginative that I'd even go as far as to say that I'd consider reading the book. Yes, me talking about reading!
And lastly, I absolutely adored Eva Green's performance as the titular character.
She exuded such charm and charisma in the role which was so ideal and appropriate, yet at the same time she could also be completely wacky and mad - all within a blink of an eye. Mercifully, the over-the-top bits are evenly spread out and aren't over-excessive - a point I'll touch on later on.
On to the bits I didn't quite like.
I'll begin with perhaps my biggest issue with the whole movie, and that's in the character of Jake (Asa Butterfield).
Through the many films I've seen over the years, I've encountered a number of performances by actors that I can't help but describe as 'wooden'.
I'm talking Kristen Stewart in Twilight wooden. I'm talking Halle Berry in Catwoman wooden.
I find myself saying the same thing with Asa Butterfield as Jake in Miss Peregrine's. He had no facial expressions at all, and just came off as the 'protagonist but only because he's listed as the protagonist on the casting call sheet'. In cooking terms, he was completely bland and lacking of any seasoning.
Sure, a case can be argued for him in that he plays a moody teen who mopes around, but think about when exactly the moping about was appropriate in the film (for those who've seen it). Once Jake makes a certain discovery, there was absolutely no excuse from that point on for him to be dragging his feet through a performance.
I also heard from my bookworm friend Ivana that the respective peculiarities of the characters of Emma (Ella Purnell) and Olive (Lauren McCrostie) were switched for the film from the source material for some odd reason. Personally, it doesn't affect the film too much as I'm just talking about the movie based on the movie and not the book, but I feel that if a change is unnecessary and if it would lead to inevitable unrest from fans of the book, why even think of swapping the abilities of the two? How peculiar (pun totally intended).
And now we come to the bit I was most looking forward to talking about in this review - Samuel L. Jackson as the film's main antagonist, Mr. Barron.
Now, don't get me wrong. I love me some good ol' Sam L. Jackson badassery and shouting and swearing and just him being just one heck of a cool dude. However, these characteristics which have made his roles so iconic and awesome over the years just don't work for the main antagonist of this dark fantasy time loop adventure shenanigans movie.
Personally, I feel that a softer-spoken, more slimy and scheming type of antagonist would have worked much better in this movie. Someone like a Christoph Waltz, Michael Caine or Morgan Freeman would have been perfect.
Samuel L. Jackson's loudness and over-the-top tendencies (although they were traits that were probably asked for by the shoddy script) end up nullifying the whole intimidating nature the character should have radiated richly without the actor having to do much. Can't really blame the man, though. I think it's just a classic case of a miscast actor.
The rest of the ensemble cast were just here and there. Pretty forgettable.
In terms of visuals, the CGI at times was really cheesy and fake. A clear example I recall would be of Miss Peregrine when she transforms into a falcon. The bird looked so laughably fake and cheap that it took me out of the movie for a moment.
Apart from those few instances, the visual effects were just average. Quite a pity in it coming from Tim Burton, someone renowned for great visuals.
My last issue lies in the screenplay by Jane Goldman, who wrote it based off of the novel of the same name by author Ransom Riggs (someone you wouldn't want to kidnap).
I felt that the screenplay did such a disservice to the book because it was so obvious that bits and pieces of plot, character development and just little intricate details were left out of the movie. I haven't heard complaints from any other fans of the book but Ivana's a reliable source in my eyes and she can go on and on about the problems she has with this book-to-movie adaptation.
For me, I'm just looking at Miss Peregrine's solely as a movie, and as a movie, it works quite well in a number of areas, but is overshadowed by a messy narrative, a very weak protagonist and an excessively over-the-top antagonist. Not even the beautiful Eva Green could save it from falling into the pit of mediocrity.
All in all, Miss Peregrine's was a very average dark fantasy adventure film with a mostly forgettable cast and an even more forgettable main antagonist - someone who's supposed to carry the movie with strong and broad shoulders.
The story and concept, although very interesting and immersive, is sloppily put together and leaves clear indicators that not all the vast source material was properly utilised.
Eva Green is a shining beacon but she's overshadowed by one heck of a loud and unnecessarily pompous antagonist.
Thoroughly mediocre.
4.5/10.
Coming from director Tim Burton, arguably one of the best directors around when it comes to visually stylistic films, this movie promised an immersive and highly imaginative world filled with treats for the eyes.
If you're watching the movie based solely on that sales pitch, then you'll be pleased. Apart from the visuals, however, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (I'll call the movie 'Miss Peregrine's' in short from now on cos its full title is just too bloody long) is one heck of a mixed bag.
Let's get right into it, shall we?
For starters, I'll talk about what I liked about the film.
I liked the vast scale of the production, be it in terms of the sets or the locations utilised. I thought that the film's main setting in some part of Wales was a really beautiful location with such lush greenery and old-fashioned cottage houses with a lovely view of the sea in the background.
The sets were very impressive too, with such lovely attention to detail put into most of the set pieces with the standout being Miss Peregrine's home.
I also liked the concept behind the story and the source material this movie had the privilege of lifting off of is so impressive and so imaginative that I'd even go as far as to say that I'd consider reading the book. Yes, me talking about reading!
And lastly, I absolutely adored Eva Green's performance as the titular character.
She exuded such charm and charisma in the role which was so ideal and appropriate, yet at the same time she could also be completely wacky and mad - all within a blink of an eye. Mercifully, the over-the-top bits are evenly spread out and aren't over-excessive - a point I'll touch on later on.
On to the bits I didn't quite like.
I'll begin with perhaps my biggest issue with the whole movie, and that's in the character of Jake (Asa Butterfield).
Through the many films I've seen over the years, I've encountered a number of performances by actors that I can't help but describe as 'wooden'.
I'm talking Kristen Stewart in Twilight wooden. I'm talking Halle Berry in Catwoman wooden.
I find myself saying the same thing with Asa Butterfield as Jake in Miss Peregrine's. He had no facial expressions at all, and just came off as the 'protagonist but only because he's listed as the protagonist on the casting call sheet'. In cooking terms, he was completely bland and lacking of any seasoning.
Sure, a case can be argued for him in that he plays a moody teen who mopes around, but think about when exactly the moping about was appropriate in the film (for those who've seen it). Once Jake makes a certain discovery, there was absolutely no excuse from that point on for him to be dragging his feet through a performance.
I also heard from my bookworm friend Ivana that the respective peculiarities of the characters of Emma (Ella Purnell) and Olive (Lauren McCrostie) were switched for the film from the source material for some odd reason. Personally, it doesn't affect the film too much as I'm just talking about the movie based on the movie and not the book, but I feel that if a change is unnecessary and if it would lead to inevitable unrest from fans of the book, why even think of swapping the abilities of the two? How peculiar (pun totally intended).
And now we come to the bit I was most looking forward to talking about in this review - Samuel L. Jackson as the film's main antagonist, Mr. Barron.
Now, don't get me wrong. I love me some good ol' Sam L. Jackson badassery and shouting and swearing and just him being just one heck of a cool dude. However, these characteristics which have made his roles so iconic and awesome over the years just don't work for the main antagonist of this dark fantasy time loop adventure shenanigans movie.
Personally, I feel that a softer-spoken, more slimy and scheming type of antagonist would have worked much better in this movie. Someone like a Christoph Waltz, Michael Caine or Morgan Freeman would have been perfect.
Samuel L. Jackson's loudness and over-the-top tendencies (although they were traits that were probably asked for by the shoddy script) end up nullifying the whole intimidating nature the character should have radiated richly without the actor having to do much. Can't really blame the man, though. I think it's just a classic case of a miscast actor.
The rest of the ensemble cast were just here and there. Pretty forgettable.
In terms of visuals, the CGI at times was really cheesy and fake. A clear example I recall would be of Miss Peregrine when she transforms into a falcon. The bird looked so laughably fake and cheap that it took me out of the movie for a moment.
Apart from those few instances, the visual effects were just average. Quite a pity in it coming from Tim Burton, someone renowned for great visuals.
My last issue lies in the screenplay by Jane Goldman, who wrote it based off of the novel of the same name by author Ransom Riggs (someone you wouldn't want to kidnap).
I felt that the screenplay did such a disservice to the book because it was so obvious that bits and pieces of plot, character development and just little intricate details were left out of the movie. I haven't heard complaints from any other fans of the book but Ivana's a reliable source in my eyes and she can go on and on about the problems she has with this book-to-movie adaptation.
For me, I'm just looking at Miss Peregrine's solely as a movie, and as a movie, it works quite well in a number of areas, but is overshadowed by a messy narrative, a very weak protagonist and an excessively over-the-top antagonist. Not even the beautiful Eva Green could save it from falling into the pit of mediocrity.
All in all, Miss Peregrine's was a very average dark fantasy adventure film with a mostly forgettable cast and an even more forgettable main antagonist - someone who's supposed to carry the movie with strong and broad shoulders.
The story and concept, although very interesting and immersive, is sloppily put together and leaves clear indicators that not all the vast source material was properly utilised.
Eva Green is a shining beacon but she's overshadowed by one heck of a loud and unnecessarily pompous antagonist.
Thoroughly mediocre.
4.5/10.
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