A Wrinkle in Time Review

A Wrinkle in Time is the latest adaptation of a classic book bringing it to the big screen with a touch of Disney magic. That doesn't however equate to an interesting time with a distinct lack of a cohesive narrative. You get the idea of where you're going start to finish, the journey there just wasn't anything remarkable.

It's a fine watch, there's nothing too critically wrong with it yet they were almost going for too much. There are some heavy tones mentioned throughout the story and the impact wasn't delivered for them. To blame certain aspects of life on an element of darkness really undermines what you're trying to say and it cheapens issues that many deal with.

Moving that aside as I just wanted to lightly touch upon that aspect, it really wasn't that great. I liked the sense of wonder they were presenting in A Wrinkle in Time and the mystic type characters were fun. This can be a solid film for a younger audience, but it does lack substance for other age demographics. It's also a tale that's full of clichés and so many predictable moments. I wasn't surprised at any point. I will note that the creepier portions were well done and I can see what they were going for, yet the message was lost along the way.

The visuals were really hit or miss here. I felt the start of the A Wrinkle in Time had more issues with the CGI than the later parts and with a film that's so heavily based on what you see for the experience, it needs to be believable.

Not something to believe in the sense that this is entirely real, but that you aren't distracted from the colorful journey of wonder in front of you. The wrinkles were excellent and the later color sets were great. I did have some issues with the large planet they visit as it looked very off and that's supposed to be a key point of what these wrinkles can do.

The costumes were fantastic here, I loved the mystic type characters as they were odd in a colorful fun way. The acting was alright, some brought better performances than others. I did find that the non-family member of the group didn't really serve any purpose and even vanishes from the screen at times which was bizarre.

The Conclusion

A Wrinkle in Time has a number of issues, it's not terrible to watch and the targets here aim towards the younger audience. I had problems with the way the plot progressed and how it dealt with certain darker tones.

The ending aspects were well delivered, yet the message was lost along the way to get there. The worlds were wondrous, yet lacked the quality in CGI to truly make them believable which detracted my attention.

It's something to watch that has bits of that Disney magic you're used to though I do expect more. It seems like a really interesting story that wasn't executed to its full potential here. You're mostly along for a straight forward ride without anything too intensive to consider afterwards.

A Wrinkle in Time Review at Theater with Standard Viewing
Screening Provided by Walt Disney Studios

Rating Overall: 5.0