Steven Spielberg's movies clearly aren't what they used to be (Warhorse and Indiana Jones 4, anyone?), but that doesn't mean the man can't still surprise us once in a while. In The BFG, he returns to the wondrous tales of his cinematic youth, with a story involving a child and an other worldly being who needs to be hidden from society, a la E.T. The special and visual effects are marvelous, and from a cinematic perspective, the movie looks terrific; the CGI here is so good that the giants actually look more human than animated, which is no small feat. Still, the movie's third act, featuring a scene at the Buckingham Palace with the Queen and her staff engaging in some un-funny and predictably unnecessary flatulence, is dumbed down for an audience of a much lower IQ than even most Americans can be accused of having (especially given the results of the latest Presidential Election). The ending, which features the British Army relocating the child eating giants (with nets from their helicopters) to a remote island, made me think that whomever wrote this screenplay (Melissa Matheson) or the original work (Roald Dahl) simply ran out of ideas. I wish the bolder, more daring (if he ever really was) Spielberg would wow us one of these days with a movie that doesn't compromise, one that isn't concerned with alienating some by injecting more engrossment and provocation into an otherwise childish story.
C+
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