A Wrinkle In Time

This review may contain spoilers!

Sometimes it really just doesn't pay off for your film to rely on one long extended metaphor. I would give A Wrinkle In Time a 3.5/10.

This film manages to deliver a heartening message that when it comes to family, love triumphs; equally they are also some nice themes about believing in oneself and recognising who you are as a person. The cinematography looked pretty good, often being set up in a way to capture the staggering special effects that made this film a fantasy fairytale. The special effects are the true magic of this film, the way intriguing and interesting landscapes are created makes this often a dazzling and exciting spectacle to look at.

Storm Reid, who played Meg, is quite a likeable leading role who is easy enough to relate with; Reid does a particularly good job at portraying her role's inner conflict and strong desire to see her family reunited. Oprah Winfrey, who played Mrs Which, portrayed a very regal omniscient character; Winfrey comes across as exceptionally sage and wise in her somewhat mentor role. Reese Witherspoon, who played Mrs Whatsit, was such a fun, bubbly persona onscreen; Witherspoon really captured her role's childlike wonder and joy throughout the feature. Deric McCabe, who played Charles Wallace, really played his prodigious role quite well; his innocence as a child was maintained throughout even with his character's obvious intellect. Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who played Mrs Murry, is a very kind and caring mother role; the strength she exhibited in raising her children without Pine and the intense joy upon reuniting with him makes for quite a heartfelt role. Zach Galifianakis, who played Happy Medium, is quite a whimsical role that lends a great deal of levity quite naturally to this film; Galifianakis' actually surprises by lending quite a gentle presence during his scene, acting as a guide for Reid's role. Michael Pena, who played Red, is quite fun and charismatic when first he appears; this quickly gives way to a duplicitous and sinister antagonist whose words expertly twist and corrupt. Andre Holland, who played Principal Jenkins, fits his role as the authoritative principal; what I like about Holland is that he lends a fair degree of human compassion to what could have otherwise been a very generic role.

However, the best performance came from Chris Pine, who played Mr Murry. Pine has a real affinity for playing this role who is so caught up in the intrigue and wonder of his research and study that you can't help but be enamoured by his line delivery. The care and love he shows for his family gets to the heart of the film's message and indicates why there is such an incredible quest to find him after he disappears. Pine's heartfelt apology and reconnection with his family is staggeringly good and really shows the strength of his ability as an actor.

The entire fantasy element of this film is pervasive throughout and doesn't often function as being very genuine because the film pushes this fictional world as an extended metaphor for its themes. Because the feature is so focused on trying to say something it creates characters who don't have a lot of substance and dialogue that comes across as incredibly stilted. The story is so enamoured with trying to make something fantastical that the plot loses itself fairly quickly. The pacing is sluggish at best and you wish it would just get to the point rather than depict artificial and empty aesthetics. The editing throughout the film doesn't help a great deal, there are a lot of sudden cuts and it's very recognisable where entires scenes or sequences have been gutted from the film. The score for the film is light and cheery and doesn't come across as very unique; what really lets the feature down is how the soundtrack comes into some scenes incredibly abrupting and pulling you right out of the events going on.

Mindy Kaling, who played Mrs Who, is a role without a great deal of substance as she lacks personal voice; Kaling spends most of the film quoting other individuals until a point in which the writers must've realised writing her this way was becoming inconvenient and just gave up. Levi Miller, who played Calvin, is a character that just really doesn't serve much purpose in the narrative; Miller's role feels like he was originally intended as a love interest but by the end of the film he's been all but erased, rendering him quite irrelevant.