The BFG (2016) // Film Review

The BFG is a fantasy adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Ruby Barnhill as “Sophie” and Mark Rylance as the voice actor for the BFG. My recommendation with this film is to watch the first half and then stop, because its just down hill from there. The plot has such a good foundation but it is so quickly ruined by what could only be explained by having to rush to meet the deadline for the script.

The voice acting by Mark Rylance was a perfect fit for the BFG, the CGI was decent although I felt the giants lacked detail in their design. I am not too familiar with the BFG book or other film so i will say now, this is a review of the film as a stand alone.

Basic Plot

Sophie lives in an orphanage when one day she is taken away by a giant, he did this because she saw him and he feared for his life. She soon learns that he is the only giant to not eat humans and that he wants to protect he from the other giants. The giants know the BFG is hiding a human but never seem to find her.

(This is where to plot starts to get weak)

Sophie convinces the BFG to devise a plan to get rid of the other giants, and they seek the help of other people because they are not strong enough on their own.

Directors Decisions

The majority of the film seemed to have a “magical” soundtrack over the top which helped give it the classic Disney feel. The music would also change very abruptly to emphasize moments. There were also some great camera angles when in “giant country”. The merge of CGI with reality was of an expected level but nothing too amazing.

Final Thoughts

The BFG does the job of being a family friendly modern remake of the classic original (Like I said, I am not familiar with the original so don’t hold me to that),but it lacks a semi-decent plot and left me feeling like I had wasted my time. Overall, I am giving The BFG a 4/10.