The BFG (2016) Review

The BFG is a film adaptation of the book of the same name by Roald Dahl and is directed by Steven Spielberg. After making dramas like Lincoln, War Horse, and Bridge of Spies, Spielberg goes back to making a special-effects-driven film that has a sort of magical and charming kind of feeling, all of which can be said here in The BFG.

An orphan girl by the name of Sophie (played by Ruby Barnhill) is kidnapped by a giant (played by Mark Rylance), after catching a glimpse of him. Despite looking rather intimidating, he is actually pretty friendly and timid, which is why he is called the BFG, or "big friendly giant." (Any jokes related to Doom are pretty much taken at this point). He is an outcast among the other giants because he is smaller than they are, who refer to him as a "runt," and he refuses to eat children.

Ruby Barnhill is excellent in the role of Sophie. She comes off as a little stubborn and inquisitive, but is very likable overall. Give props to Steven Spielberg for directing her very well and having her act like a child should be. Mark Rylance is quite enjoyable as the BFG. He seems like a cool old guy who has a great childlike wonder thanks to his malapropisms. It's quite funny to hear him call human beings "human beans," and the film has a lot more to offer in terms of those. When Sophie corrects him, I relate to her because I have a habit correcting people.

What I love in this film is how the audience is immersed into the giant country. For example, when Sophie first talks with the BFG, he is cutting a vegetable. Every time a cut is done, the thud that the knife makes on the table makes a bit of a booming sound. That's because giant things make a loud noise when landing on impact. I tend to notice little details like that when viewing certain movies.

The cinematography is also something worth mentioning. There are various shots throughout the movie that do a good job in making Sophie look tiny in the set-pieces, showing off the great size and scope in various locations. I also love the use of shadows in the nighttime scenes, especially when the BFG is disguising himself. Just look at this shot next to the paragraph. Even better is the scene where the two main characters visit this dream tree. The use of darkness and bright colors give the characters and the audience a sense of awe.

The film is a little slow-paced in some parts, but it's okay, because I managed to get invested throughout. I think it's because The BFG has a sort of magical and laid-back tone. You can just relax while viewing it. John Williams's score, while not memorable, sets that tone very nicely. At times, it reminds me of his score of the first three Harry Potter films, which also had a magical feel to it.

The movie does have its share of humor. They come few and far in between, but whenever something is funny, it's actually funny. Without giving much away, there is a sequence in the second half that got the audience in the auditorium in stitches. Not to mention that it's one of the few films to actually have a fart joke that is actually funny. Anyone who doesn't like fart jokes will probably make an exception here because of how well-executed it is.

I do have a couple of gripes with The BFG. My first gripe are the villains. There's not much to their characters apart from being bullies. There isn't much done to make each of them look identifiable, either. I couldn't even remember any of their names.

My other gripe is the CGI. Don't get me wrong: it's not awful by any means, but it could have been better. I'll get the positives out of the way first. The filmmakers did a great job making it look like Sophie and the BFG were interacting with each other. Ruby Barnhill was directed well enough to hide the fact that she was talking to thin air. Considering that The Jungle Book, which came out a few months earlier, also succeeded at this shows how much the filmmakers know how to pull off the interactions between live-action and CGI characters.

On the other hand, the animation on the giants could have been polished more. At times, their motion capture seem convincing, but other times, they come off as unintentionally cartoony. Not only that, but I hardly felt like they were actually there because the CGI looks so obvious. Their facial animations can also come across as rather unsettling since they try to make them look realistic. It's a step backwards from what we got in last month's Warcraft. Yeah, the Orcs were CGI, but they actually looked like they were there on screen and avoid going into the uncanny valley at the same time. I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks this.

Other than those, I really enjoyed The BFG. I don't think it's one of Spielberg's strongest films but I think audiences, especially families, will have a blast with it. It's got just enough magic and charm to be a good film on its own. The gripes I have don't really break the film for me; I just felt that I needed to bring them up. Nevertheless, it managed to do just fine thanks to the bond between the two main characters, which is the main selling point of the movie. I say the...

GOOD OUTWEIGH THE BAD