Film Review: Disney’s Charming, Magical “BFG” Has Big Heart, Little Substance

By Editor July 1, 2016 11:00

By Anthony Hernandez

In true Spielberg fashion, The BFG whizzes and pops onto the big screen in a magically brilliant, sometimes melancholy, and always visually impressive ride that will make you just straight up feel good. Unfortunately, all “the feels” are sort of washed over in a glaze of happiness and mirth (again, in true Spielberg fashion) while avoiding nearly all of the darker elements of the book that gave it weight. It still has its emotional moments, which are made authentic by Oscar winner Mark Rylance’s perfect performance as the titular big friendly giant.

The story is simple. Sophie, a young orphan “human bean”, is whisked away one night by a big friendly giant to Giant Country (which is just a few giant leaps off the coast of England – into another dimension, of course). Terrified at first, Sophie soon realizes that the 24-foot monster is actually just a charming, snozcumber-eating gentleman; but because Sophie saw the BFG, she cannot be permitted to leave Giant Country. Her presence, however, attracts the unwanted attention of the other giants – who are much bigger than the BFG, and far, far less amiable. After learning about past dealings with the giants, Sophie comes up with a plan to travel to London and convince Queen Victoria to get rid of the bad children snatchers (eaters) for good.

Plot is sometimes substituted with magical set pieces; and even when the story treads the edge of scary waters, Spielberg’s direction always seems to pull it back. The book is darker, bloodier – while the movie is incredibly tame in comparison. Also, the two-hour run time drags on into tedium in a few places. The younger ones may not be willing to sit through the film’s deliberate pace, which could arguably be just an excuse to showcase the amazing motion-capture that brought the BFG to life – though technically there’s nothing wrong with that, when it’s successful. And The BFG is just that. Even when it’s just downright silly, it works – and it actually works because of how harmless it is.

It’s one of the best family friendly movies to come out this year. The seamless mixing of live-action and green screen, CGI and motion-capture visual effects will wash over you like a beautiful dream. Yes, newcomer Ruby Barnhill – who plays the spry, no-nonsense whip of a little girl Sophie – is a delight; but it is Rylance who carries the movie from beginning to end. His performance as the BFG really begs the question yet again, when will the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences finally start recognizing these motion-capture performances?

Rylance’s turn as the BFG deserves an Oscar nod. The Academy has already missed their chance with Andy Serkis (in his ground-breaking, never-before-matched motion-capture performance as Gollum in the last two Lord of the Rings movies). Maybe this year they’ll be bold enough to do it… but probably not.

All in all, The BFG is a delight and it deserves to be a success at the box office. It is warm and inviting, and it will climb into your heart and stay there. I just wish it had more to say.