Review by John Delia, Jr.
Have you ever wondered if fairy tales are real or if Giants actually exist? Who catches our dreams and delivers them to us or are supernatural forces out there? The BFG will have you asking yourself these interesting questions and you’ll feel like a child once more.
A little orphan named Sophie (Ruby Barnhill) goes on a mysterious journey that will fill your hearts with excitement, adventure, and a new friend called ‘BFG’ (Mark Rylance). From him she will learn about this new and mysterious world from which he’s come and discover a better life for her to experience.
Sophie lives in an orphanage in a large house on a narrow side street behind the local pub. She has trouble with sleeping and stays up very late almost every night. She believes after 3am that ghosts and mysterious things appear. One night after she watches the local drunks depart from the pub Sophie sees something strange from her window.
When Sophie gets spotted by this big shadowy creature it kidnaps her and takes her to a world far away. So begins an adventure tale of the mysteries of giants and a friendship that grew between Sophie and BFG.
Director Steven Spielberg gives youngsters and oldsters a new adventure that amazes and delights. He puts together a mysterious story and blends it all with spectacular special effects. His amazing ability to bring new and interesting story lines to the big screen is just wonderful as witnessed by tales like the Adventures of Tin Tin, Hook, and E.T. He always seems to put things together right for families and envisions it to last for the ages.
The cast may not be familiar, but that’s a good thing. Especially the acting of Ruby Barnhill as the wide eyed Sophie who finds herself in a new world of giants. She makes her character vulnerable to this magical happening opening her mind to the experience and finding a way into the hearts of the youngsters who are watching it all on the big screen. She reminds me of a similar actress that was able to make the audiences believers in 1982, upcoming star Drew Barrymore as Gertie in E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. I can see Ruby getting more notice as she develops her talent and this is a very good start for her.
The BFG has been rated PG by the MPAA for action/peril, some scary moments and brief rude humor. Although there’s some big surprises that may startle little ones, for the most part it’s good for the whole family.
Final Grade: I give this a B for its wonderful storyline and fantastic special effects.
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
