"A Wrinkle in Time" Movie Review

Monday Movie! A Wrinkle in Time
(No spoilers.)

I will preface this review by admitting that I have never read the book. I know, I know. I actually prefer seeing movies based on books when I haven't read them. A) the books are usually better and thus set an impossibly high standard for the director, and B) this allows me to judge the movie on its own merits.

A Wrinkle in Time is a fun, family-friendly sci-fi adventure. Like many of you, I was thrilled when I found out that they were casting a black girl as the star. I mean, first Black Panther , now an all-out kids' movie in the same month? Hollywood's finally starting to get representation right! (Or at least Disney is, since they produced both films.) So yes, I was very pleased at the casting decisions, and every single actor performed beautifully, even the quirky adult guides. (The kid playing Charles Wallace was especially good. Just, wow.)

Having said that...

For all the hype surrounding Wrinkle in Time , I was underwhelmed by the final product. Its strongest point was the visuals, which were admittedly stunning. But special effects are not nearly as important as engaging characters, a structured plot, and originality. When a movie relies too heavily on visuals to have any lasting impression on its audience, it's time to go back to the storyboard.

Wrinkle in Time has good characters and plot, but it is so run-of-the-mill Disney (sans musical numbers) that nothing really stood out to me. Neither the story nor theme are original, even if the latter is important for kids to learn. It's basically, "Yeah I have flaws. But I'm also fabulous. Suck it."

I'm not saying that Wrinkle is a bad movie. Not at all. It starts slow and kind of meh , then gradually gets better. It's better than the alternative of watching something promising go downhill, even if at the end it didn't get more than a B. It's a great movie for kids. But for the adults watching...well, it could be better.

And for those of you saying, "Well, yeah, of course you were underwhelmed. You're twenty-two years old and this movie is geared for elementary through middle school. Of course you didn't like it so much."

May I present exhibit A: Pixar. And not just Pixar. Disney has proven again and again that they are capable of making movies that everyone in the family will enjoy and learn from. Zootopia tackled prejudice so well that even adults understand it better! Disney neglected to do that with Wrinkle in Time . Too much time and energy was spent on pretty costumes and special effects, and too much focus was on the cheesiness of love and acceptance.

If the movie had delved into the backstories behind the three immortal guides, they would have been more than just the replaceable Helpful Adults, like in Harry Potter .

If there had been more gray areas and choices rather than the strict "we are good and must defeat evil," it would've created more character development, like in Star Wars .

And if there had been more complexity to the worlds they visited rather than "This is a good, pretty world," or "This is a scary, evil world," they could have created more nuance, like in Star Trek or Coco . Heck, Coco' s world of the dead was just as colorful an awe-inspiring as Wrinkle in Time , but outside of a single "Look at how pretty this world is" scene, that was never the focus of the story.

Bottom line: if you have kids, I recommend you take them to this movie. Otherwise, I'd go see Black Panther ​again.

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