The BFG (2016) Review

https://youtu.be/frGSzFj10p4?feature=shared

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

We all know how big the world is, but it’s always a surprise to see how friendship can come from unexpected places.


PLOT


Inspired by Roald Dahl’s beloved kids story, The BFG begins in London and follows a young girl named Sophie who lives in an orphanage. One night, she would see a giant from afar and chooses to take her with him to avoid other humans fearfully hunting him down from his home of Giant Country that can be taken through a portal hidden in the clouds. Thankfully, he proves to be a gentle one of his own kind whereas others led by Fleshlumpeater who bully him and call him Runt. She almost gets spotted by the taller one until having to hide in a snozzcumber vegetable. She befriends the gentle giant soon enough to give him the titular initials of Big Friendly Giant as he shows her another dimension called Dream Country where he catches dreams and passes good ones to sleeping children. As they return to Giant Country, they notice from afar that Fleshlumpeater has led a coup to eat other children worldwide and has deduced the others know he’s made a new friend. Not wanting to lose Sophie like he lost the last one who was a boy that taught him to read, he considers taking her back to the orphanage until she claims to unafraid of the other giants. When returning to his home, Fleshlumpeater trashes him home and much of his work hoping to find the child, but BFG stands up for himself by driving them all away with a hot iron. When finding a Queen Victoria painting in the home of the last companion, Sophie becomes inspired to plant a bad dream on the Queen of the United Kingdom where the bad giants are eating children and she will appear to her. It works after infiltrating Buckinghan Palace and when the child introduces herself to the Queen, alongside the maid Mary and butler Mister Tibbs, she introduces  her big friend to prove what she dreamt is real. After having breakfast together where BFG shares flatulence-induced frobscottle while he tries eggs and toast, he and Sophie are able to lead soldiers to Giant Country. Sophie would wake uo the bad giants with another nightmare and while most feel guilty of what they’ve done, Fleshlumpeater is the only one that doesn’t and before he can harm BFG again, he and his group get carried away by military helicopters. They would be sent to an isolated island where they would be stuck with snozzcumber seeds to plant rather than flesh. Some time later, Sophie would be adopted by Mary and live in Buckingham Palace with her. Waking up from a dream left by BFG, she would say aloud good morning to him and the film would end with him hearing from his home while he writes of their adventure.


THOUGHTS


To this day, it’s a big surprise that it took so long for the veteran Steven Spielberg to collaborate with Walt Disney Pictures so late in his career. While it’s not as popular from what he’s done in the past, it doesn’t exactly takeaway the overall quality because I still find it enjoyable. It still delivers on its own for hitting the right checkmarks you expect from his filmography such as an elegant John Williams and the right amount of immersive-ness of Giant Country. The visual effects then become the greatest strength from not only all the beautiful colors from each of dream of Dream Country but also the motion capture done on each Giant including the titular lead. Whether it is a pov or a tracking shot, Janusz Kamiński’s cinematography is able to make the whole experience exciting. Considering how this was the last script to be written by the late Melissa Mathison who also wrote ET, I’m able to connect with this one enough to understand the whole point of Dahl’s intent to look past appearances because there is always more to a person than that. That is why the dynamic of Sophie and BFG holds up so well as once they do look past their differences, they appreciate wanting the best for each other. As breakout Ruby Barnhill unleashes so much compassion and curiosity when with her new friend as the former, the experienced Mark Rylance brings out all the whimsical empathy that makes him enjoy life the way he does, even if he has speech impairment that makes him hard to understand at first. At the end of the day, they get along so well for the need of wanting to fit in. Without each other, they would never find the content they were looking for. I really smile seeing Penelope Wilton make a more composed and gracious iteration of the queen because with all the evidence that was given, it’s enough for her to trust what she’s unfamiliar with, which includes hysterically allow her pet dogs to try frobscottle as well. It was also a delight to see Rebecca Hall as Mary because apart from her devotion to the Queen, she still had enough empathy to see how big of a heart Sophie had, hence taking her in as her own. And it was nice as well to see Rafe Spall who gives valid fear upon seeing BFG at first since it ain’t everyday to see a giant in general, only to become just adaptable as his superiors pull off. Last but not least, for a gentle giant to be the lead protagonist, it makes all the right sense for a bigger one to be antagonistic. Jemaine Clement was a great choice as Fleshlumpeater because he succeeds in making him relish the pain he causes. If he didn’t an Achilles heel such as being afraid of water and not being picky with what ehe eats, he wouldn’t be as evil as he chooses to be. Off of that, he gets the best comeuppance possible without the need of genocide. With evil isolated, Sophie and BFG can live their lives as peacefully as they please. I’m always gonna a have a soft spot for this one, but even fun stuff like this have a few head scratching moments to look back on when rewatching. For instance, isn’t Sophie a bit of a hypocrite for her to tell herself to not go to the window after already badgering drunks outside? I mean there’s no point for her to have a mantra if you’re gonna break so it easily as a kid. I almost have a hard time believing Sophie survived one of the other giants strapping itself to a car like a roller-skate and not get concussed at the very least. I mean it’s one thing to have luck on her side, but that is too heavy of plot armor in my opinion. It’s already one thing for BFG to notice Sophie’s glasses on the grass, but I refuse to accept he did not the other giants when Sophie spotted them before he moves the tree. Hell, he’s even lucky they didn’t even spot them either. Also, the queen could’ve suggested dining with BFG outside to avoid any broken chandeliers and the only thing more surprising than that is she didn’t let anyone taste the Frobscottle before her. Lastly, where are the snozzcumber seeds going to be planted on the island? I gotta ask since it doesn’t like there’s anywhere for them to be planted. Ignore these flaws, then you can still identify The BFG as a fantasy family flick that succeeds in bringing the right amount of pleasantry you want & expect from the genre. If that is what you still prefer, then check this out when you can.