The BFG

This review may contain spoilers!

Sometimes books don't translate well to film and sadly not even a visionary director like Spielberg is able to escape this fact. I would give The BFG a 6/10.

Visually this is possibly the greatest a family film has ever looked, the motion capture and CGI effects used to create the BFG, the giants and the dreams are exceptionally vivid and beautiful. The cinematography is immaculate, namely how shots are framed is done really well and indicates a type of storybook quality in the film. While there were a lot of issues with the film's plot I have to say the core relationship between the BFG and Sophie is very well done, seeing these two grow to care for one another so much is rather sweet.

Ruby Barnhill, who played Sophie, is a wonderful young protagonist in this film; she plays a courageous strong role very well and also manages to convey the wonder of being in such a magical environment.

However the best performance came from Mark Rylance, who played BFG. Rylance as the BFG is one of those casting choices that just makes absolute sense. He doesn't convey what he means to say very well and Rylance captures this stilted way of delivering lines rather well. I also thought that the way Rylance shares his role's wide range of emotions is rather well done; the death of the young boy he knew is a sadness that still lives with him, the fear of his fellow giants and the joy he discovers while adventuring with Sophie. I loved this role and I enjoyed seeing him develop into a brave character who defends his friend at all costs.

This film has serious pacing issues, while there was a lot of attention paid to showing how beautiful the special effects were there was also not much focus on advancing the plot. This led to a lot of long gaps between action and there were several scenes that got quite repetitive. By the time the main characters finally decided to do something about the film's antagonists it was starting to get boring but the introduction of the Queen didn't help matters. Once the focus was upon the Queen it all got a bit ridiculous, nothing seemed to make a lot of sense and it was clear this section of the story wasn't translating well to screen. The film's score was also a bit of a let down, it sounded like the score for a direct to tv film rather than a Spielberg blockbuster.

Penelope Wilton, who played The Queen, gave a rather disappointing performance as the Queen in this film; she didn't have the strong screen presence that would have suited a monarch figure. Jemaine Clement, who played Fleshlumpeater, gave a rather generic villainous performance; he wasn't a character so much as he was an overarching menace. Rebecca Hall, who played Mary, was one of the more forgettable performers of the film; she was an assistant to the Queen and thrown a scrap of lines to work with. Rafe Spall, who played Mr Tibbs, was little more than the butt of a litany of weak jokes, Spall wasn't a very good comedic performer so he failed to add a new comedic edge to the film.