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Genre:
Adventure / Drama / Family
Director: Robert Shaye
Cast: Chris O'Neil, Rainn Wilson, Michael
Clarke Duncan, Joely Richardson, Kathryn Hahn, Rhiannon Leigh
Wryn, Marc Musso, Kirsten Williamson, Megan McKinnon
RunTime: 1 hr 35 mins
Released By: Warner Bros
Rating: PG
Opening
Day: 12 April 2007
Soundtrack: Read
Our Review On The Original Soundtrack By Howard Shore
Synopsis
:
In the tradition of E.T. the Extra –Terrestrial
and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, MIMZY tells the extraordinary
story of a family’s experience with a universe beyond
their imaginations. When young Emma and her brother Noah find
a mysterious box on a beach, little do they know their lives
would change forever. The filmmakers evoke a world of infinite
possibility with stunning visual imagery in a taunt but tender
story. It is a world of suspense and peril as well as hope
and love. A world very much like our own.
Movie
Review:
The poster, the tagline and hey, even the production
notes makes it sound way more interesting than the final product.
And
the most ironically thing is it’s directed by Robert
Shaye, head of New Line Cinema, marking his first directorial
return after a hiatus of more than a decade behind the corporate
table and co-written by Toby Emmerich, head of production,
New Line.
The
Last Mimzy is based on the Lewis Padgett’s 1943 short
science-fiction story "Mimsy Were the Borogoves",
not quite a household name I suppose but amazingly, the people
behind it seem to have such a liking to it that they decide
to make a movie out of the pages. The plot has it that brother
and sister, Noah and Emma found a mysterious magical box (which
contains Mimzy, some stones and map) while vacationing at
their seaside cottage. Thus begin their journey to discovering
things beyond our earthly-world and acquire super-human being
powers along the way.
The
cast were likeable especially the first-timer young leads
and Rainne Wilson’s (The Office) performance as a science
teacher is a hoot. What’s seriously wrong is the plot.
And what’s the movie primarily target audience?
To
address point number one, the last mimzy actually refers to
a cute stuffed rabbit. Furry on the outside but it’s
actually an incredibly piece of high-tech machinery. Obviously,
mimzy is here on a mission and ready to spread a well-meaning
message to us. But halfway to the movie, the screenwriters
has to do a E.T style of bringing in the National Security
Agency which contributes nothing to the flow of the story
but got to show the world how lame the NSA works.
Although
targeted at the kids’ crowd, The Last Mimzy lacks the
charisma of “E.T.” or the fast-paced madcap adventures
of “Jumanji” and “Zathura” to keep
kids entertained. Of course, the lack of noisy sound effects
and toilet humour at times is also a good thing to behold,
it’s just that it can be a little too monotonous here.
You
can classify The Last Mimzy as a smart kiddy movie in the
end. But we left the theaters scratching our heads wondering
isn’t the movie a little too smart for young kids to
comprehend and too predictable for adults. All of a sudden,
the thought of watching a 30th anniversary edition of E.T.
flashes across the mind…
Movie
Rating:
(A more suitable acquisition for Hallmark
channel)
Review
by Linus Tee
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