CinemaNerdz

Movie Review: The BFG

Dane Jackson

The literary works of Roald Dahl hold a special place in my heart. I’ve read them all multiple times throughout the years – some of them becoming favorites and an easy way to escape back to my childhood as an adult. Most people levitate towards books like James & the Giant Peach and Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, but not me. Ever since Mr. Cook’s 4th Grade Class, my Dahl of choice has always been The BFG. The relationship between Sophie and the Big Friendly Giant and their adventures are ones that I’ve always gotten a kick out of. After watching the animated The BFG Posterversion of the book, I was nervous about a live action adaptation of such a beloved piece of my childhood. That is until I saw who was attached to the project. Not only did Steven Spielberg take on the directing role, but he reunited with his E.T. screenwriter – Melissa Mathison. With those two on board, I knew they would treat the source material with care, and apart from a tad bit of gloss over some of Dahl’s darker moments from the book, I’m happy to say it was pretty true to the story.

The film opens in a dark and dreary orphanage where insomniac and rebel Sophie (Ruby Barnhill) accidentally spots a giant blowing something into the windows (he captures dreams and then blows them into the windows of the sleeping people of England). Given no other choice after having his cover blown, the giant (who later becomes known as The BFG), kidnaps Sophie and takes her to giant country. The BFG (Mark Rylance) is different than the other giants inhabiting his homeland. Not only is he much smaller than all of them, he refuses to share in their eating habits – trading a taste for children for the foul-tasting vegetable snozzcumbers that he grows. Given the fact that the other giants feast on human “beans,” it’s safe to assume Sophie’s arrival puts her and The BFG at odds with the other giants.

In the book, The BFG seems a bit grumpier than his cinematic counterpart. Spielberg tones that aspect of his character down and emphasizes more of his kind-hearted and innocent traits. Rylance plays those to perfection, especially as it pertains to the giant’s relationship with Sophie. It’s obvious the giant grows to care about her. By the end of the movie, you become emotionally invested in the character and find the way he mixes up words charming. Because the look and feel of the BFG is integral to the book, I was a bit worried how he would translate as a CGI giant. Some of the action sequences felt a bit off, but overall, the animation and visual effects on the BFG (and on all the giants for that matter) were top notch. The only real issue I found with effects was the use of 3-D. The BFG is one of the first times I’ve seen a movie that was clearly converted to 3-D with the intention of making more money. There were times when I took my glasses off and the screen was clear. There is absolutely no benefit whatsoever to pay more to see this movie in three dimensions.

While The BFG was a relatively faithful adaptation to the source material, there were times when the movie felt like it was dragging a bit, especially during the second act. I suspect that Spielberg could’ve edited about fifteen minutes out of the film and not lost any of the key beats he was going for. Even though the movie slows at points, it comes together for an exciting third act. While I wouldn’t recommend this movie for younger audiences – I’m not sure I want little ones worried they’ll get eaten by a big scary giant by the name of The Fleshlumpeater (portrayed wonderfully by Jemaine Clement) – The BFG is still relatively wholesome family fun (there are even some fart jokes for good measure).

At the end of the day, The BFG is a charming movie about the relationship between a girl and her giant. It feels a bit odd for this to be a summer release as I feel that movies like this typically fare better around the Christmas holiday, but there weren’t that many family movies to bookend another superhero summer. I suspect coming out in the summer months will end up hurting this film in the long run, which is a shame because it’s one of the better adaptations of a Dahl novel out there.

Dane Jackson

Dane Jackson has been writing about movies since high school when he had a monthly column in the school paper about cult movies. His cinematic tastes have matured (slightly) since then.
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