The BFG 2016

Forget about the box office numbers and the mild reception BFG received from critics and audiences. If you don’t clear your mind and find the proverbial blank slate, these outside influences will taint your viewing and in the process a gem of a movie will be missed. The public reaction initially served to reinforce my general angst and reluctance to shell out $40. I kept asking myself, how could a Spielberg movie based on a Roald Dahl book flop?

This wasn’t like most other current movies being produced, which are basically over-hyped schlock (usually sequels) that require mindless consumption of over-buttered popcorn to survive the journey. However, I had a hunch that BFG would be a quality film because it didn’t fit this popular zeitgeist. Plus, the kids really wanted to see it and I am sucker for taking my kids to the cinema. In the end, I am glad I listened to my kids because BFG combines the best of both visual effects and storytelling, making it the type of movie that keeps me and my family coming back.

As a family movie, it doesn’t get much better. BFG spoke to my wife and me, and my two sons, (ages 7 and 9), on different levels yet still allowed us to connect and talk about the film days later. After all, isn’t this the true point of movies – to tell and re-tell the story, long after the lights have come back on and the theater is empty?