A Wrinkle in Time – Film Review

Disney has lately become into the habit of adapting a lot of its animated classics into live action, leaving the live action film department of their studio feeling a bit soulless. But this year Disney smartly pushed forward a couple of projects that are new to its live action catalog of films with this being the first of two. This film is a book to film adaptation which is not new for Disney but its subject matter is quite appropriate for the company’s brand. Hiring Ava DuVernay was a smart choice in not only bringing in more female talent but another person of color having the opportunity to utilize their skills in a big spotlight.

Ava DuVernay should be credited with creating a lot of great visuals, strong creative choices, in casting, messaging, and bringing a new fresh perspective to general audiences. I do appreciate all the effort that was put in this film from top to bottom. The writing is the main part I had a problem with when it came to the films issues. The story felt like there were a lot of themes and messages it wanted to cover that became muddled over the course of the film. The journey of the story just felt not as grand as it could have been. Things are presented in a third person perspective than a first person. One of the main characters played by Levi Miller felt so forced into the story without and context with his relationship with the main character played by Storm Reid. Storm does a great job as the lead of the film and it is to her credit as an actress she makes the movie watchable.

The only thing faster than light is the darkness

Jennifer Lee, I would say is the main problem with this film in that it doesn’t feel focus or as grand as it should. With 2015’s ‘Tomorrowland’ that film felt epic and had a large scale of greatness while also balanced the science aspects enough to warrant a sci fi epic. This film dipped in both of those pools of trying to be a fantasy and a sci fi at the same time without feeling like either.

I would say also another fault of this film is the writing for the main character’s brother, Charles Wallace. He always felt more omniscient and precocious than he should. He felt like he knew more for some reason and I never knew why he did know what he did at any point of the movie. It was just messy. For a recommendation on this film, I would say is worthy of watching later on Netflix when it arrives before it moves over to the Disney streaming service in 2019. Though it’s good to support films done by creators of color and women, it should not be indicative of us supporting mediocrity even though there is a concernive effort in making a great film for young children of all ages and colors.

5/10