⅗ Bones
*Not as Bad as it Should Have Been Award 2017 *
Honourable Mention Best of 2017
In the lead-up to my much overdue Best of 2017 list, I thought I’d include a review for a film that also features a very late and harried mammal. Or rather, its superior sequel. It was originally intended to be a quick mention on the Best List as a way to thumb my nose at convention like the rebel I am. Ha! Take that, established critics and review sites! I think this already forgotten and popularly disliked Hollywood effects explosion was more worth my time than Toni Erdman! Go ahead! GASP. But seriously, I can’t lie, I did enjoy this film a lot more than many others this year. It just had a spark...allow me to explain.
Is it garish? Redundant? A sequel to one of the most disliked adaptations of all time? Yes in triplicate, I’m afraid. But if there’s one thing most of us can cheer for, it’s an underdog…or a reformed villain. And this movie really did surprise me. It’s not quite a fully-rounded ‘good’ film, but there are certainly many good elements, and it dodges around many large gaping pits of bad, if not all of them. It even made me almost like the previous instalment with the way it used its established elements to enjoyable effect. (And I HATED its predecessor) Make no mistake, this is more like its maligned prequel than the books from which it purloins its title - but instead of a horrible “Chosen One”, war-story rehashing, this film attempts to actually have emotional heft and a more unique storyline. Sure, it still doesn’t ‘get’ what Alice in Wonderland should be about, but as its own thing that has definitively separated itself, it’s surprisingly palatable.
