movie review the bfg

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Common sense media reviewers.

Sweet Dahl book adaptation has big heart, big scares.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Like the book, the movie teaches kids about not ju

Strong themes of courage, perseverance, and empath

The BFG and Sophie are wonderful friends to each o

The movie's tone is dark, and there's plen

Insults like "you're a disgrace to giants

Nothing in the movie, but there's tie-in merch

Men who appear drunk walk around the streets below

Parents need to know that The BFG -- which was directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Roald Dahl's beloved fantasy book -- is about a Big Friendly Giant (BFG) and Sophie, the young orphan he first snatches and later befriends. The movie has a dark tone, and tense moments of peril and danger punctuate…

Educational Value

Like the book, the movie teaches kids about not judging others by their appearances, about the importance of friendship (no matter how unlikely it is), and the power of speaking up and asking for help. They may also learn about Nicholas Nickleby , the Charles Dickens book that Sophie is reading when she's taken by the BFG.

Positive Messages

Strong themes of courage, perseverance, and empathy. Shares the book's themes about friends coming in all shapes and sizes, how even one or two individuals can make a difference, and how everyone needs someone to believe in them. Sophie and the BFG's friendship also explores how friends should stand up for each other, and their interaction with the queen reveals how you shouldn't be afraid to ask for help, even if it seems daunting.

Positive Role Models

The BFG and Sophie are wonderful friends to each other. They protect, listen to, and help each other overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. The queen believes Sophie and the BFG and agrees to help them. Sophie is courageous and determined.

Violence & Scariness

The movie's tone is dark, and there's plenty of peril/danger. Sophie -- who's an orphan (she says bluntly that her parents are dead) -- is snatched away by the BFG and immediately taken to Giant Country (she screams the whole time). After she's kidnapped, Sophie believes she's going to be eaten as the Giant sautees dinner (and she lands in the skillet). She later realizes she's safe with him -- but the other nine giants are indeed human-eaters. These giants hunt for Sophie and destroy the BFG's home. They also hurt him in several tense scenes that put Sophie (and the BFG) in precarious positions as she attempts to hide from them. The BFG plants a nightmare in Sophie's mind when she sleeps just so she'll believe him about how truly bad the other giants really are. In one scene, a truck hits a giant's private parts. At one point, a giant nearly does eat Sophie, but she's saved at the last minute. The British Army invades Giant Country and subdues each of the "bad" giants. Several references to the last child who stayed with the BFG, whom the other Giants found and ate.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Insults like "you're a disgrace to giants," and some silly potty humor as a special fizzy drink causes everyone (even the queen) to "whizzpop" (fart).

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Nothing in the movie, but there's tie-in merchandise for all Disney movies, so expect apparel, games, toys, and more.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Men who appear drunk walk around the streets below the orphanage, and Sophie yells at them. The giants drink a green fizzy drink called frobscottle , in which the bubbles go down instead of up. Although it's supposedly made from fermented snozzcumber , t's not alcoholic, seeing as Sophie is allowed to drink it (and so does the queen of England).

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The BFG -- which was directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Roald Dahl's beloved fantasy book -- is about a Big Friendly Giant (BFG) and Sophie, the young orphan he first snatches and later befriends. The movie has a dark tone, and tense moments of peril and danger punctuate the story from the beginning. After Sophie (Ruby Barnhill) is kidnapped, she expects the BFG ( Mark Rylance ) to cook her for dinner, and later she's hunted by the other giants, who love to eat children; these giants are destructive, loud, and scary when they're on screen. In one scene, the BFG plants a nightmare in Sophie's mind when she sleeps just so she'll believe him about how truly bad the other giants really are. Death is also referenced in not-so-subtle ways: Sophie bluntly states that her parents are dead, and the BFG alludes to another human child he used to be friends with who was clearly eaten by the other giants. While the scares are enough to keep the littlest audience members away (or at least with their eyes firmly covered), this tale about discovering friendship and family in the unlikeliest places also offers sweetness, humor, and heart -- as well as themes of courage, empathy, and perseverance. (Oh, and some fart jokes.) To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Community Reviews

• Parents say (32)
• Kids say (48)

Based on 32 parent reviews

Sweet film, a bit too scary for younger ones

Dark, violent, not for children, especially young girls, what's the story.

In THE BFG, Sophie (Ruby Barnhill), a young orphan with insomnia, spends her evenings either walking the halls of the orphanage or reading books well into the wee hours of the night. On one of these restless nights, she finds herself face-to-face with "the boogie monster." He kidnaps her and takes her to live on Giant Island; as a result, Sophie spends the beginning of the movie terrified and angry -- she's scared of being eaten and then angry when she learns she's expected to live on Giant Island for the rest of her life. But gradually Sophie and the "monster" get to know each other, and Sophie learns that he's actually a Big Friendly Giant ( Mark Rylance ), who walks the streets at night placing good dreams into children's rooms. As their friendship unfolds, the BFG shows caring and kindness toward Sophie -- and they work together to try to rid Giant Island of the rest of its scary, bullying residents, all of whom are eager to eat the "bean" (aka "child") that the BFG brought home with him. Sophie and the BFG power through dangerous encounters, terrifying close calls, and sheer hilarity as they discover a deep and truly unique friendship.

Is It Any Good?

The magic, fantasy, and eventual pure sweetness between the two central characters is nothing short of heartwarming. The BFG has many opportunities to highlight what being a good friend is all about -- and what it means to have strong values. Sophie, a wise-beyond-her-years orphan, is played incredibly well by Barnhill. She's fully developed as a character, but her maturity is lovingly balanced with her regular, child-like ways. This is a welcome change, since "mature kids" in movies and TV shows can often seem sassy and unrelatable.

The visuals live up to director Steven Spielberg 's reputation; as always, he has a knack for bringing fantastical elements and creatures into everyday life. As for the BFG himself, Rylance will win audiences over from his first (of many) teary-eyed smile. His giant warmth and compassion, his bumbling language and missteps, and his grit and determination will leave every kid -- and parent -- wanting a BFG of their own.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about what makes Sophie such a strong character in The BFG . Do you think she's a good role model ? Why? Can you think of other movies featuring strong female characters?

What was the scariest part of the movie? Did the scary parts make the movie sadder or more fun? Why? How much scary stuff can young kids handle?

What did this movie teach you about friendship? What specific things happened that were examples of empathy , courage , and perseverance ? Why are those important character strengths ?

Why do you think the BFG didn't eat "beans" like the other giants? In what other ways is he different from the other giants?

Kids: If you read the book, how do you think the movie compares? Were there scenes in the movie that looked different in your mind? Do you like reading a book before it gets made into a movie?

Movie Details

• In theaters : July 1, 2016
• On DVD or streaming : November 29, 2016
• Cast : Rebecca Hall , Mark Rylance , Jemaine Clement , Ruby Barnhill
• Director : Steven Spielberg
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Indigenous actors, Polynesian/Pacific Islander actors
• Studio : Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
• Genre : Family and Kids
• Topics : Magic and Fantasy , Book Characters , Friendship , Great Girl Role Models
• Character Strengths : Courage , Empathy , Perseverance
• Run time : 115 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG
• MPAA explanation : action/peril, some scary moments and brief rude humor
• Award : Common Sense Selection
• Last updated : July 4, 2024

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Review: In ‘The BFG,’ Walking Gently and Wearing Huge Shoes

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By A.O. Scott

• June 30, 2016

“The BFG” — it stands for “big friendly giant” — is a small, friendly movie, an attempt to reconcile the scale and dazzle of modern filmmaking with the quiet, mischievous charm of Roald Dahl’s book . Directed by Steven Spielberg and written by his frequent collaborator Melissa Mathison (who died in November), it chronicles the relationship between the title character (Mark Rylance) and a young orphan named Sophie (Ruby Barnhill).

The Giant, at first an embodiment of childhood terrors, turns out to be a gentle soul with expressive ears, a melancholy countenance and an inventive, semi-nonsensical way of talking. Sophie is first his captive — he plucks her from the orphanage after she spies him sneaking through the nighttime London streets — and then his ward and pal. He lives in a faraway valley with nine other giants who call him Runt (everything is relative) and mock his vegetarianism. They regard humans (“beans” in their lingo) as food, so he has to protect Sophie from them. Eventually, she and the BFG visit the queen (Penelope Wilton) and have a big breakfast with her and her assistants (Rafe Spall and Rebecca Hall).

Dahl’s book is a touching, episodic chronicle, illustrated with whimsical line drawings by Quentin Blake. Not as dark and nasty as some of Dahl’s other work for children — it doesn’t have the sinister undertones of “James and the Giant Peach” or the rebellious anarchy of “Matilda” — it is touched with sadness as well as with wonder. Mr. Spielberg tries to replicate this delicate mood, and compared with other recent entertainment of its kind, including some of his own films, “The BFG” is notably restrained.

The friendly giant is well acquainted with loneliness and grief, conditions whose sources are hinted at in ways that may mercifully elude the understanding of the very youngest viewers. And while his carnivorous brethren (led by a lummox named Fleshlumpeater, played by Jemaine Clement) are full of slobbery bluster, they project all the menace of untrained sheepdogs.

Movie Review: ‘The BFG’

The times critic a. o. scott reviews “the bfg.”.

The digital effects that render both the Giant’s person and his surroundings are exquisite. Instead of flash and noise, Mr. Spielberg and his visual team (led by his standby cinematographer, Janusz Kaminski) go for shimmer and glow, with the exception of a few bouts of loud, fluorescent flatulence called forth by the bubbly home brew that is the BFG’s tipple of choice.

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Review: Steven Spielberg’s ‘The BFG’ seeks to recapture the heights of ‘E.T.’

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“I had a dream last night.” The words arrive near the end of “The BFG,” and while they are thankfully not to be mistaken for that oldest of story-upending clichés (“It was all a dream”), they nonetheless linger like a melancholy echo over the whimsical high spirits of Steven Spielberg’s new movie. In ways both obvious and elusive, the curious logic of dreams is crucial to appreciating this technologically astounding if predictably sweetened adaptation of Roald Dahl’s 1982 novel.

As millions of readers already know, “The BFG” is shorthand for “the Big Friendly Giant,” played via a brilliant amalgam of performance-capture technology and peerless screen presence by Mark Rylance. At once a protector of the weak and a principled herbivore (he subsists on slimy, nasty vegetables called snozzcumbers), he is also the practitioner of a most unusual artisanal hobby: the collection and dissemination of dreams. The BFG is basically the Sandman on steroids, but he is also a stand-in for Spielberg, a purveyor of big-screen enchantment who has done more than perhaps any other filmmaker to shape the dream life of audiences the world over.

At no point in his career has the director managed this quite so effortlessly as with “E.T.,” a movie that casts a long and inescapable shadow over this one. Released the same year Dahl’s book was published, “E.T.” also centered around a gnomic being with benign powers, funny speech patterns, an easy rapport with children and a memorable acronym for a nickname. (Both films are the work of the screenwriter Melissa Mathison, who died last year.)

Watch the trailer for “The BFG.”

With “The BFG,” Spielberg has taken a break from the serious-minded sweep of his recent political procedurals (“Bridge of Spies,” “Lincoln”) and attempted to fashion a new classic of childhood wonderment. In this he has been only partially successful. Dragged along by the insistent churnings of John Williams’ score, the movie is noisy and emphatic at times when a quieter, moodier touch would suffice, and it contains at least one antic sequence, involving a homemade water flume, that could be a prototype for an attraction coming soon to a Disney theme park near you.

But despite the compromises that typically attend a studio-made family entertainment — especially one that has been adapted, however lovingly, from a sharper, edgier piece of source material — “The BFG” also possesses a rich and unmistakably Spielbergian understanding of the loneliness of childhood, and of the enduring consolations that friendship and imagination can offer. Not unlike its title character, the movie can be cloddish and clumsy, but it is also a thing of wily cleverness and lithe, surprising grace.

The movie opens on a haunted nocturnal vision of London, the camera (wielded by Spielberg’s usual cinematographer, Janusz Kaminski) settling on an orphanage bathed in the warm glow of streetlamps and perfectly placed shafts of moonlight. It’s a suitably eerie look for what Sophie (plucky newcomer Ruby Barnhill) describes, with a sometimes wearying gift for overstatement, as “the witching hour” — the same hour that she spies the BFG lurking in the street outside her window. He spies her too, and within moments she’s caught in his very large grip, racing northward through the English countryside to Giant Country.

What follows is perhaps the most kid-friendly chronicle of Stockholm syndrome this side of “Beauty and the Beast,” though adults may find themselves submitting no less readily to the warmth and wit of Rylance’s performance. The BFG has scraggly gray hair, comically oversized ears and a gentle scrape of a voice as inimitable as one of the actor’s fingerprints — and it’s that voice, more than anything, that gives this digital avatar his soul. Coming off his supremely restrained, Oscar-winning turn as a Soviet spy in “Bridge of Spies,” Rylance goes in the opposite direction here; unlike Rudolf Abel, his BFG is a man of many words.

And what marvelously mangled words they are. Mathison and Rylance have more than honored the BFG’s unorthodox yet utterly intuitive way with the English language, particularly his affection for the present participle and his blithe disregard for subject-verb agreement. “Words is oh such a twitch-tickling problem all me life!” he moans at one point, though few who hear him will be inclined to agree.

Long before she settles down in the giant’s cavernous home (marvelously conceived by production designer Rick Carter), Sophie realizes that her captor has no intention of harming her, let alone eating her or any other “human beans.” The same cannot be said of his nine bare-chested brothers who dwell in the hills nearby, and whose fearsome appetites are aptly summed up by their names: Fleshlumpeater, Childchewer, Bloodbottler, et al. (They are played, most of them unrecognizably, by actors including Jemaine Clement, Jonathan Holmes and Bill Hader.)

Dahl’s justly beloved children’s novels (including the previously filmed “James and the Giant Peach,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Matilda” and “The Witches”) are distinguished by their narrative ingenuity and their surpassingly wicked humor — a bracing reminder that children long to be thrilled and even frightened by what they read, not infantilized. In “The BFG,” Dahl took a particularly nasty delight in describing every ghastly detail of the giants’ dietary habits, laced with riotously crude wordplay. (Sample dialogue: “Greeks from Greece is all tasting greasy.”) Absent that mordantly funny sensibility, Spielberg’s PG-rated interpretation can’t help but feel sanitized by comparison. His giants, Cro-Magnon cannibals though they may be, are played less for bloodthirsty menace than for buffoonish comedy, setting the stage for a few rambunctious but perfunctory action sequences.

Curiously uninvested in its own narrative conflict, “The BFG” is best appreciated as a drolly funny celebration of difference. It’s no surprise that the picture springs to life when Sophie seeks an audience with the queen (a shrewdly cast Penelope Wilton), in an extended sequence that throws the BFG’s physical enormity into high comic relief. It also serves as a clever sendup of English formality, full of stiff upper lips and splendidly egalitarian fart jokes.

There’s no way that Spielberg and his collaborators could have guessed that a silly story of cross-cultural friendship — in which a well-oiled British government acknowledges the humanity of a dangerous-looking outsider — would feel like an ever more resonant fantasy in the post-Brexit era. “The BFG” is a far-from-perfect movie that may have arrived at the perfect moment. Like so many good dreams, it leaves us groping for a past that can never be recovered, but also looking ahead to a future that suddenly seems brighter, and friendlier, than we had dared to believe.

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MPAA rating: PG, for action/peril, some scary moments and brief rude humor

Running time: 1 hour, 57 minutes

Playing: In general release

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Justin Chang was a film critic for the Los Angeles Times from 2016 to 2024. He won the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in criticism for work published in 2023. Chang is the author of the book “FilmCraft: Editing” and serves as chair of the National Society of Film Critics and secretary of the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn.

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Cannes Film Review: Steven Spielberg’s ‘The BFG’

An all-digital Mark Rylance wins over audiences with his big, big heart in a forbidden-friendship story that serves as Steven Spielberg's 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial' for an all-new generation.

By Peter Debruge

Peter Debruge

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Let’s say for the sake of argument that giants really exist. That they galumph around London, ’round about the witching hour, plucking kids from orphanage windows as a late-night snack. That one among them has misgivings about all this “cannybullism” and might actually make a pretty good friend, if given the chance. Wouldn’t you like to know about it? That’s the beauty of Roald Dahl’s “ The BFG ,” as brought to life by recent Oscar winner Mark Rylance : You believe . No matter how fantastical the tale (and it gets pretty out-there at points), this splendid Steven Spielberg -directed adaptation makes it possible for audiences of all ages to wrap their heads around one of the unlikeliest friendships in cinema history, resulting in the sort of instant family classic “human beans” once relied upon Disney to deliver.

Dahl’s widely read and nearly universally revered novel began its journey to becoming a Spielberg movie some 25 years ago, at roughly the same time the director released one of his few duds, the cacophony that was 1991’s garish Peter Pan rehash, “Hook.” That film served up more bad ideas than good, but among its takeaway lessons was the notion that magic only works so long as children believe, and here we see the principle put into practice. Though waiting more than a couple of decades meant losing out on the idea of casting Robin Williams as the eponymous “Big Friendly Giant” (a choice that would have altered the film’s chemistry entirely), it’s just as well that Spielberg waited, for technology has finally caught up to the project’s ambition, allowing Rylance to credibly become a 24-foot-tall “runt” — the smallest (by far) in a race of performance-capture giants.

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“The BFG” is gonna be huge. That much practically goes without saying: With Spielberg at the helm, “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” screenwriter Melissa Mathison at the typewriter (though she died last November) and Dahl’s wonderful imagination — and vocabulary — at the fore, the film has ginormous box office potential. Still, without any bona-fide movie stars or franchise characters to drive worldwide audiences’ desire to see it, “The BFG” won’t have an easy time getting anywhere near the 20 highest-grossing films of all time (a list where Spielberg presently holds last place, with “Jurassic Park”).

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Fortunately, “The BFG” bears far more in common with “E.T.” than “Hook,” representing yet another opportunity for a misunderstood young person — in this case, parentless 10-year-old Sophie (newcomer Ruby Barnhill), who’s whisked from her orphanage window and spirited off to Giant Country — to connect with a creature whom her fellow human beings simply wouldn’t understand. For a certain generation, “E.T.” will always stand as the ultimate children’s movie, and while it certainly belongs in the pantheon, there has always been something deeply unsettling about the way the story veered from an intergalactic bonding opportunity to a panicky fable about how humans inevitably ruin everything (a flaw that subbing walkie-talkies for guns simply couldn’t fix).

Here, it’s the nine other giants — a nasty, irritable lot, easily twice the BFG’s size, with names like Fleshlumpeater, Bonecruncher and Meatdripper, and with teeth the size of tombstones — who pose a threat, gumbling at the idea of fraternizing with their food. (Whether the BFG has adopted Sophie as his pet or vice versa is a matter open to debate, though either way, it’s a charming idea for kids.) The BFG may have adopted a more enlightened diet, subsisting entirely on a stinky vegetable called Snozzcumbers that make lima beans sound downright delicious, but the rest still prefer a nice human delicacy. And just as sensitive as the BFG’s big ears are to sounds, so too is the mammoth schnozz of giant leader Fleshlumpeater (Jemaine Clement) to the odors of a potential human treat.

But Sophie isn’t easily intimidated, and fortunately, her courage is infectious in what might otherwise have been a film far too frightening for anyone Sophie’s age or younger. The BFG hadn’t exactly planned what to do with Sophie after snatching her from the orphanage, although anticipating the sort of reaction that befell E.T. (where frightened humans might capture him and put him in a zoo), it’s clear that he can’t leave her to go spilling about the existence of giants on “the tellytelly bunkum box and the radio squeaker.” Spielberg withholds a proper introduction till the pair get to Giant Country, but endears us to the character straightaway by revealing the conspicuous creature’s ability to hide in plain sight, as the BFG uses his best nighttime ninja moves to evade detection in London.

While the other giants have been designed largely from scratch (and as such, look somewhat more convincing to the eye), with the BFG, there’s an undeniably resemblance to Rylance. If anything, his features have merely been distorted to suit his new dimensions: as tall as a soccer goal is wide, with hands the size of grocery pallets, huge elephant-scale ears and a nose that would be right at home on Mount Rushmore. As appealingly sensitive as Rylance’s features may be, this funhouse-mirror reconfiguration takes some adjustment on our part, throwing off some of the forced-perspective gags in the early getting-to-know-you scenes back at his cave — which looks not altogether different from certain Hobbit sets imagined by his “The Adventures of Tintin” collaborator Peter Jackson.

Jackson also introduced Spielberg to the technology that made “The BFG” possible, and it’s thanks to Joe Letteri and the WETA performance capture team that Rylance — a character actor whose impact often relies on his ability to under-play any given role — succeeds in imbuing his digital avatar with subtlety and nuance (the total opposite of what Williams likely would have brought to the part). With no offense intended to mo-cap pioneer Andy Serkis, it’s exciting to see someone else driving one of these virtual performances, although without Williams in the role, there’s no telling how many laughs were lost along the way.

What humor “The BFG” does offer derives almost directly from Dahl’s novel, most of it owing to the giant’s “squiggly” way of speaking in a dialect known as “gobblefunk.” Meanwhile, Mathison’s script excels more at deepening the connection between Sophie and the BFG than at cracking jokes along the way. If anything, she seems to be toning down some of Dahl’s more outrageous gags, including a scene in which Buckingham Palace erupts in a round of “whizzpoppers” (one can only imagine how Eddie Murphy or Mike Myers might have taken this flatulent set piece in another direction). But she has also invented the film’s single best scene, elaborating on the fact that the BFG tries to compensate for the other giants’ human-gobbling antics by blowing pleasant dreams through the windows of sleeping children.

At Sophie’s insistence, the BFG takes the girl along on a dream-gathering expedition, hopping through a magical pool to Dream Country, an upside-down world where “phizzwizards” — literally, the stuff that dreams are made of — circle the branches of a giant tree like Apple’s mesmerizing “Flurry” screensaver. Together, girl and giant chase these phosphorescent blurs around like so many elusive butterflies. Aesthetically speaking, it’s a downright hypnotic sequence, giving longtime Spielberg collaborator John Williams the richest moment to heighten via a fully orchestral score that manages to enchant without relying so heavily as usual on a simple recurring musical theme.

Those who know Dahl’s book understand how vital dreams are to resolving the story’s giant-human détente, and this hypnotic “dream sequence” — alongside a couple other scenes set in the BFG’s dream-mixing workshop — makes Sophie’s fanciful solution feel nearly as plausible as the idea that she’s befriended the planet’s only benevolent giant. The finale, which brings the BFG face-to-face with the Queen of England, finds Spielberg stepping out of his comfort zone into the realm of farce, and though adults will find this section to be royally silly, it’s a vast improvement on similar scenes in “Minions” and “Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties.”

These are hardly the comparisons Spielberg might be aiming for with what is clearly designed to be a late-career classic, though enlisting the Queen’s assistance is about as far as one can get from the problematic last act of “E.T.” — which is not to say that watching Her Majesty rip “whizzpoppers” is necessarily a better solution. By this point in their collaboration, Spielberg and d.p. Janusz Kaminski have arrived at lighting and framing their footage in such a way that it feels downright authoritative, as if no better vantage could be had on the moment in question. Here, that quality allows Barnhill (who looks like a less-precious version of “Matilda” star Mara Wilson) and the virtual Rylance to convincingly coexist, especially on the gorgeous emerald-green steppes of Giant Country, where Spielberg invites us to believe our eyes.

Reviewed at Cannes Film Festival (noncompeting), May 14, 2016. Running time: 115 MIN.

• Production: A Walt Disney Studios release of a Disney, Amblin Entertainment, Reliance Entertainment presentation, in association with Walden Media, of a Kennedy/Marshall Co. production. Produced by Steven Spielberg, Frank Marshall, Sam Mercer. Executive producer, Kathleen Kennedy, John Madden, Kristie Macosco Krieger, Michael Siegel. Co-producer, Adam Somner.
• Crew: Directed by Steven Spielberg. Screenplay, Melissa Mathison, based on the book by Road Dahl. Camera (color), Janusz Kaminski; editor, Michael Kahn; music, John Williams; production designer, Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg; costume designer, Joanna Johnston.
• With: Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill, Penelope Wilton, Jermaine Clement, Rebecca Hall, Rafe Spall, Bill Hader.

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The BFG Reviews

Come and meet Steven Spielberg’s dullest lemon and worst dumpster fire. The BFG is a victim of two uneven halves populating a single film.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Feb 16, 2024

“The BFG” is a delightfully heartwarming movie that may push away those looking to have their senses set ablaze by nonstop action and rampant silliness. But for those looking for an intelligent and engaging experience, “The BFG” more than delivers.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 19, 2022

For any other filmmaker, this film would be a splendid Dahl adaptation. For Spielberg, it's far less than a dream come true.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Apr 11, 2022

There is genius, as you'd expect.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Mar 3, 2022

It's Spielberg's weakest movie since Hook.

Full Review | Original Score: C- | Aug 28, 2021

Whizzpoppers abound, much to the delight of all the kids in the audience.

Full Review | Aug 27, 2021

The BFG reminded me of the scene in (of all things) History of the World: Part I in which a bored Emperor Nero (Dom DeLuise) is presented with a wooden bathtub and mutters, "Nice. Nice. Not thrilling, but nice."

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Aug 18, 2021

The good worth seeking out.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 14, 2021

Spielberg deserves credit for trusting, rightly, that the enduring appeal of Dahl's characters will be enough to make his BFG a big-screen hit.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 9, 2021

The star of "the movie is Spielberg, whose sense of wonder is infused in every frame.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 3, 2021

The BFG is a poignant, casually bold film, unconcerned with what the market research suggests children need and instead giving them what they have always wanted...

Full Review | Jan 6, 2021

Contains plenty of visual magic, but very little movie magic.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/10 | Dec 4, 2020

As the film's heroine, newcomer Ruby Barnhill is ideally cast. Barnhill's Sophie is both wise old soul and vulnerable young girl.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4.0 | Sep 3, 2020

Spielberg is big enough to make any picture he wants, but here it seems he's simply going through the motions.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Jul 13, 2020

The BFG isn't a travesty or a tragedy, it simply isn't anything special or memorable. Brilliant visuals aside, there's little warmth or heart or wonder to behold.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Jul 3, 2020

After finishing this fantastic adventure, this great children's event, or whatever, I'm happier than a lottery winner knowing that I will never see it again. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 4/10 | Jun 27, 2020

While The BFG is perhaps a lesser Spielberg film, his lesser efforts are better than the best efforts of many others. This is a film of genuine kindness...

Full Review | Feb 13, 2020

A vivid storytelling piece with vision and fantasy.

Full Review | Feb 4, 2020

Thankfully, Spielberg's The BFG stays faithful to the treasured Roald Dahl young adult novel with old-fashioned storytelling...

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jan 23, 2020

The BFG should have been more OMG, and maybe a little more LOL but it's still more than A-OK.

Full Review | Oct 22, 2019

The BFG Review

22 Jul 2016

117 minutes

Roald Dahl has become easier since 1990 — the year the author died. When he was alive he was famously opinionated, raging at filmmakers for altering plot details or casting actors he didn’t approve of, then publicly campaigning against the films if his demands weren’t met. Some films escaped his wrath though, including the faithful-to-the-book 1989 animated version of The BFG . You’d imagine he’d be pleased with this, too: Steven Spielberg directing a script by his E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial screenwriter, the late Melissa Mathison .

Rylance is the perfect choice for this gentle, humble creature.

The story opens promisingly: John Williams ’ score builds excitement as Sophie (newcomer Ruby Barnhill ) explains how giants lurk in London at night, unseen to all except the insomniac orphan. Night-time London enchants like a fairy-tale city, while the first glimpses of the BFG are captivating. The prospect of a huge hand grabbing you out of your bed is one of the book’s thrills, and it’s translated well. Barnhill is a terrific young actor and her down-to-earth, bespectacled character is a far cry from Disney’s archetypal heroine.

Once we’re in his land, the full glory of the BFG unfolds: he’s a big-eared, wispy, white-haired CG wonder with the kind eyes of actor Mark Rylance , who was filmed using motion- capture cameras. Rylance — who won an Oscar for Spielberg’s Bridge Of Spies — is the perfect choice for this gentle, humble creature, and brings Dahl’s quirky dialogue to life in a soft West Country accent. Confused at first by the BFG’s muddled speech, Sophie soon learns (as we do) to love his unwittingly comical delivery, talking of human ‘beans’ and sharing his love for the fizzy drink Frobscottle, which leads to loud farts that will have kids squealing with delight.

But then something strange happens: nothing. For quite a long time. This act is heavy on dialogue between Sophie and the BFG, with scene after scene outstaying its welcome. Those who haven’t read the book might start shifting in their seats, wondering where all this is going. There’s little tension beyond visits from the nasty, bigger giants — voiced by Jemaine Clement and Bill Hader — who are intimidating enough, but underdeveloped. The BFG being bullied by the bigger boys certainly has underdog appeal, but the story pauses for too long in this repetitive loop.

It’s left to the final act to deliver — and in the nick of time, it does.

The BFG’s habit of collecting human dreams is also underused. There are a few strong visual dream-catching moments and an enjoyable visit into the head of a young boy who dreams he receives a call from the US President. But details such as this are too rare. It’s left to the final act to deliver — and in the nick of time, it does. Sophie and the BFG go to Buckingham Palace, where they change the dreams of the Queen (Penelope Wilton), in order to convince her giants are real. The Queen’s waking moments are perhaps the most thrilling of the film: will she believe the story of the little girl who is perched on her windowsill, and the giant who is lurking in the gardens?

Wilton is tremendous, and much-needed character humour comes from Rafe Spall as Mr. Tibbs, the kindly, slightly nervous butler who’s frantically trying to alert security to the intruder without breaking the moment. Rebecca Hall is lovely as the Queen’s maid, and a scene in which the BFG is lavished with breakfast — requiring multiple footmen delivering piles of eggs — proves Spielberg can do comedy. Not only does it recall the likes of Gulliver’s Travels , it reminds us what fantastical fun can come of a large cast as well as a large character.

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The BFG Review

Spielberg adapts dahl in sweet family film..

Spielberg aiming for the grandkids rather than the older youth market is still full of good-natured charm and wonder, but there’s also a more subdued feel at play here. If The BFG occasionally whizzes, it never pops off the screen like the very best Spielberg fantasies do, despite the best efforts of Mark Rylance’s genial giant. Mid-level Spielberg is still streets ahead of much of the competition, of course, but any recommendations must come with the caveat that this director has explored the bond between a young child and his otherworldly friend so much more effectively before. And by those incredibly high standards, The BFG isn’t quite one to phone home about.

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Steven Spielberg’s The BFG Creates a Sublime World, But Gets a Little Lost in It

Based on the classic children’s book by Roald Dahl, Steven Spielberg’s fantasy The BFG is a labor of love that sometimes wears its love too laboriously, but a surfeit of rapture isn’t the worst thing in a movie — especially when its director has a genius for translating emotion into the rising and falling of his camera or laugh-out-loud disjunctions in scale. You shouldn’t look this big friendly giant in the mouth, especially if he has just eaten a snozzcumber.

He probably has, given that those ucky-mucky syntheses of cucumbers and snot are a major part of his diet. Unlike the big unfriendly giants who surround him, the BFG has no appetite for “human beans.” His main activity — besides cooking snozzcumbers — is fashioning dreams to be blown into the heads of children and other sleeping human beans. Before you say “How syrupy!” you should know that some of those dreams are scary and that the BFG is also given to drinking carbonated beverages in which the bubbles go down instead of up and emitting earthshaking “whiz-poppers” from his big friendly backside.

The BFG has a sublime visual running gag. In the first few moments, a cat scurries through the orphanage in which the movie’s young protagonist, Sophie (the spirited Ruby Barnhill), unhappily resides and enters the frame like a monster. But the cat is dwarfed by Sophie, who’s subsequently dwarfed by the BFG — who reaches through her window when she spies him at 3 a.m. moving through the city with his trumpets and his dreams. The BFG carries her off, bounding over buildings and into another realm, but just as we’ve adjusted to his immensity, he’s dwarfed by the enormous, nasty Fleshlumpeater, who’d regard Sophie as a rare delicacy. You wonder if there’s someone bigger yet.

Dahl wrote The BFG in the last decade of his life and said that it was his favorite of his works. Perhaps, at six-foot-six, he identified with the giant’s estrangement from humanity, or perhaps he saw himself as a cranky outcast putting dreams into children’s heads. The BFG combines his love of stretching words out like taffy with his affection for scatological humor with his abiding respect for the military (he flew perilous combat missions in World War II), which arrives in the giants’ land via helicopter at the behest of the queen, indignant over the eating of England’s children.

The BFG ’s screenplay was written by Melissa Mathison, who also wrote E.T. Despite the inevitable comparisons, the two films have little in common. What made E.T. so vivid was not just the bond between a child and a being from another realm. It was E.T. ’s suburban-American setting. My view is that Spielberg does better when there’s some tension between his magically fluid technique and an essentially realistic, textured world. The BFG doesn’t have that grounding, and in the film’s middle section, when Sophie and the giant fly around collecting dreams and whatnot and composer John Williams goes heavy on the airy-fairy flutes, I started to get a bit woozy-snoozy.

I could watch and listen to Mark Rylance’s BFG forever, though. Is his CG visage a little too dear for a Dahl creature? Yes, but his cracked, tender Cockney voice with its ebbs and flows is exquisite, and he all but sings those made-up words that tickle the ear and confound the spell-checker. Watching him slurp down a dozen runny fried eggs in Buckingham Palace and fart with serenity, you might think you’ve never seen such a perfect fusion of a radiant old soul and a toddler.

*This article appears in the June 27, 2016 issue of New York Magazine.

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By Peter Travers

Peter Travers

Even Steven Spielberg feels pressure sometimes. On The BFG, the famed director must serve two masters: Roald Dahl’s beloved 1982 novel about a little girl who gets kidnapped by a BFG (big friendly giant), her savior in a land of unfriendly cannibal giants; and a liberties-taking script by Melissa Mathison, who wrote Spielberg’s 1982 blockbuster E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and died last year of neuroendocrine cancer. Then there’s the matter of turning The BFG into a movie that can stand on its own.

For special effects alone, there’s no problem: They’re spectacular. And there’s no faulting Mark Rylance, a newly-minted Oscar winner for Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies, whose motion-capture performance as a 24-foot giant is both subtly nuanced and truly monumental. In a role once intended for the late Robin Williams, the British Rylance is transformed by technology while still looking very much like himself. One scene, set in London by night, shows how the giant manages to cloak his humongous presence by blending in with the scenery. And what a thing of beauty, terror and rare delicacy it is.

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Things get “a bit grumbly” — to borrow a BFG phrase — when the worlds of Spielberg and Dahl collide. We’re set for terror in giant country, where the big guy takes 10-year-old Sophie (newcomer Ruby Barnhill) after he sweeps her out of her orphanage bed in London. The BFG looks like the runt of the litter, and he is mercilessly bullied by these huge beasts, with such names as Bloodbottler (voiced by Bill Hader), who are eager to chow down on little Sophie. One of these jumbo titans, Fleshlumpeater (Jemaine Clement), is an expert at sniffing out  “human beans.” This is the darkest of Dahl, but Spielberg favors watching the BFG collect dreams in glass jars and blow them into the heads of sleeping humans. It’s a reasonable metaphor for Spielberg’s own method.

The biggest laughs come at Buckingham Palace where Sophie convinces the Queen (Penelope Wilton) and her retinue to enjoy the BFG’s favorite drink, a “frobscottle,” which sets off an explosion of  “whizzpoppers” — farts that rival of explosion of flatulence in Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles. But during a climactic helicopter roundup of evil giants, you want the movie to go for broke and start provoking something more than easy laughter and tears. E.T. did that brilliantly and so did Close Encounters of the Third Kind — family films that could keep mom and dad up nights along with the kids. Regrettably, The BFG plays it too nice and falls short.

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The BFG Review

WELCOME TO GIANT COUNTRY

Roald Dahl was a British novelist that lived from 1916-1990.  Growing up in Wales, England Dahl (interestingly) served in the Royal Air Force during WWII as a flying ace and intelligent officer. Yet, after he serving his time in the war, Dahl’s writing flourished, becoming a very promising author to both children and adults with his best-selling works. Being called “one of the greatest storyteller for children of the 20 th Century”, Dahl’ children novels have welcomed world renowned throughout the years, with his books selling over 200 million copies worldwide (and growing). With novels like James and Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matlida, The Witches, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Twits, amongst many others, Dahl’s children’s books feature a sort of a macabre undertone (Dark humor, but still kid friendly), featuring (for most part) adults as the bad guys or some titular being or even series of events with his main protagonist a sort of “kind hearted” individual. Over the years, Hollywood has taken an interest in adapting Roald Dahl’s works into feature films, bringing some of his beloved stories to the motion picture screen. Such is the case with Walt Disney’s newest feature film as the studio (and legendary director Steven Spielberg) present a theatrical adaptation of The BFG . Does this film adaptation of Dahl’s classic children’s literature stand tall and proud (like a giant) or is it a CG visual mess that’s not worth taking the journey to “Giant County?

In a London orphanage, a young girl named Sophie (Ruby Barnhill) is a late-night insomniac who is fed with the orphanage’s caretaker Mrs. Clonkers. During one night, Sophie glances upon a giant who appears in front of her bedroom window. Without warning, the giant plucks Sophie from bed and, with the little girl in tow, whisked his way back home in “Giant Country”, where she finally gets a look at The BFG (Mark Rylance), a 24-foot-tall giant who doesn’t eat humans and is a kind guardian of dreams. In The BFG’s dwelling, Sophie is stunned to find a room that’s filled with jars, each one containing a special dreamscape that he uses to concoct and tailors to share around the world in children’s’ dreams.  As a friendship bond grows between the Sophie and The BFG, there peace is interrupted by The Fleshlumpeater (Jemaine Clement), 50-foot-tall giant who (along with the other giants) has appetite for human “beans”, trying to locate the tiny visitor while her guardian works to keep his giant brethren away from her presence. Soon the pair hatch a plan to stop The Fleshlumpeater and other giants from eating humans, calling upon the Queen of England (Penelope Wilton) for assistants.

THE GOOD / THE BAD

In my childhood, the only Roald Dahl book I’ve read was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory back in fourth grade. The rest I know about (through their reputation as Dahl’s collective works) or through “word of mouth” from people who have read them. As I said above, several of Dahl’s books have been adapted into feature film and those ones I’ve seen. Movies like Matilda, James and the Giant Peach , and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (both the original 1971 dubbed Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and 2005 version which kept the novel’s original name) are the ones remember seeing, while others like The Witches and the animated version of The BFG (the 1989 version) I’ve only seeing bits and pieces of. As for The BFG (this new 2016 one), I remember seeing the trailers and got excited to see as it was branded under Disney and directed by Steven Spielberg. I actually did pick up a copy of Dahl’s The BFG and read it, finishing it several days before I went to go see the movie. Thus, I had the story fresh in my mind when I sat down and watched the feature. What did I think of it? Spielberg’s The BFG , while having some problems, is still a “giant” kid friendly adventure with heart, humor, and imagination.

The BFG’s director is a renowned filmmaker that needs to introduction. Steven Spielberg has become an iconic Hollywood director, delivering some of the industry’s most celebrated feature films, including E.T., Jaws , Jurassic Park, and Saving Private Ryan just to name a few. It’s clear that from the get-go that Spielberg envisions this feature to be similar to his E.T. and it sort of does with a young human child encountering (and ultimately befriending) a being not from our world. Spielberg even brought on-board E.T.’s screenwriter Melissa Mathison (who sadly passed away shortly after The BFG wrapped on production) to help pen the script, bringing to life a story of an “unusual” friendship and the wonder behind it. Tweaking the script from Dahl’s novel here and there, Mathison (and by extent Spielberg) succeed in crafting a film that’s wholesome for viewing while also not being too unfaithful to its source material. Similarly, Spielberg and Mathison create a more defined theme / message for the movie than the book did, touching upon bullying and an important lesson of learning to coexist in harmony with others that are “different”.

In addition, while Dahl’s novel has sort of darker elements within, Mathison removes most of them, making The BFG a very light-hearted experience. There are still some scary bits for the younger audience (especially how some of the giant look), but, for the most part, it’s a kid friendly movie. In short, though it may not be as theatrically powerful and poignant as E.T . was, Spielberg (along with Mathison) still deliver a very moving (and whimsical) tale about a little girl and kind-hearted giant.

As a whole, The BFG has a very “storybook” feel that Spielberg seems to create. From the opening scene of London (and Sophie’s orphanage) to The BFG’s cozy hodgepodge dwelling to the fantastical world of Dream Country, the whole movie has a whimsical wonderment to it all that does play blissfully throughout, creating an imaginative world within its storytelling frame. Coinciding with that, the CG visuals effects for the film are really good, bringing to life towering behemoth giants and fanciful environments that are awash with bright colors and intricate details. All the performances by the giants are done in mo-cap performances (motion-capture) are really great and the layered CG visuals on top of those performances help believe that these fantastical creatures. Like I said above, I’ve only seen parts of the 1989 animated version of The BFG and I can tell you that the giants in that adaptation are way scarier, looking more like giant monsters with some minor humanistic traits. How they appear in this 2016 version are more toned down the scare level and look more like giant “humans” (albeit an uglier and tad grotesque). An example of this is in the giant Fleshlumpeater (watch him in the 1989 animated cartoon and then in the 2016 movie). Still, even if there “scare factor” is dialed down, the amount of detail of how they look (skin, wrinkles, facial features, etc.) are astoundingly real. And I wouldn’t expect anything less from the talented visual wizards at WETA Workshop (the visuals behind The Lord of the Rings , The Hobbit , The Chronicles of Narnia, etc.).

As a side-note, the musical score for the movie, composed by John Williams, is light and whimsical (just like the feature) and I do have to mention that the sound editing did a great job, creating unique sounds for various objects as well as (and most notably) in the pounding footsteps of the giants. Lastly (before I forget), I do have to mention The BFG’s cinematographer Janusz Kaminski for creating some nifty camera angles that shows either how small Sophie is to The BFG (and in his dwelling) and showing how big the giants look in their size comparison.

Like a lot of Dahl’s children novels, BFG’s source material is fully of imaginative beings and locations that sort of lend themselves to making the film adaptation entertaining. Unfortunately, Dahl’s 1982 novel of The BFG, while creative, fun, and engaging towards it audience, isn’t really a plot-driven novel with the narrative that’s not as strong for a clear cut three-act structure. This does arise in adapting The BFG as Spielberg (along with Mathison’s screenplay) seem to lose their way at various points, especially at the beginning of third act, and creates pacing issues. With the film running roughly two hours long, The BFG “self-indulges” in several scenes that play for laughs and jokes (as I’m sure kids will laugh them), but these sequences go off on a tangent, sometimes losing the narrative plot that’s at hand. Another shortcoming in the movie are some of the new concepts that are introduced in the story, but are never fully explained (Why do the giants hate water?) or could’ve been more expanded upon (The BFG’s first human child encounter?). As an extension for that, due to Spielberg’s illustrious film career, many fans / moviegoers are going to have “high” expectations for what this renowned director does in the movie. Thus, it becomes apparent that Spielberg (as a director) isn’t outshining his previous works as some viewers might judge The BFG harder because of who directed the movie. To me, I’m spilt down the middle on that. Yes, I love and respect Spielberg and his movies, but The BFG is a still a good movie, despite its flaws and missteps.

Perhaps the biggest star in the movie is The BFG himself that’s played by Mark Rylance via motion captured performance. Following his Oscar-winning performance in Bridge of Spies (also directed by Spielberg), Rylance delivers an incredible richly-drawn performance within a character that’s quite unique and equally rich in its persona. The BFG’s mumbling “giant talk” and his tendency to speak in malapropisms (using an incorrect word in place of a word that sounds similar) are handled with great ease by Rylance, while his facial / physical expressions and movements help render the digital creation of 24-foot-tall giant to life in ways that a 100% digital CG creation could never do. In short, Rylance’s BFG is downright endearing and true “focal” point of the entire feature. Sharing the main spotlight with Rylance is the young and newcomer child actress Ruby Barnhill, who plays the orphan girl’s protagonist Sophie. Since I recently just read the book, the character of Sophie, as a whole, was used as instrument for readers (experiencing what she saw through her eyes) as Dahl didn’t give her much of a personality. Thus, Spielberg and Mathison give Sophie more depth, showcasing the young girl with enough spunk, courage, and determination. Equally, Barnhill shows that as well within Sophie. Her performance is also a crucial part in The BFG as it shows the bond between her and The BFG himself, but also sells the imagery and mo-cap performance, believing that a nine-year-old girl is really interacting with giant beings.

With most of the film’s screen-time being shared between Mark Rylance and Ruby Barnhill, The BFG has a small supporting cast that, while played by talented individuals, are there to help gain momentum to the movie’s plot and not so much to themselves within their character. Jemaine Clement is the only member of the evil giants that is given a full personality. However, while as I said he looks like an awesome as the towering and brutish Fleshlumpeater, he’s a stereotypical footnote villain. Still, Clement brings enough creativeness to make the character to be memorable in the film (wish there was more of him in it). I did read that actor Bill Hader did one of the voices for the giants (The Bloodbottler), but I didn’t even recognize his voice in the movie. The only other supporting cast members worth noting are Downton Abbey alum Penelope Wilton as the Queen of England and Rebecca Hall, known for her roles in  The Gift  and The Town , as the Queen’s maid Mary. Both Wilton and Hall do good jobs in serving their characters, even though the characters are generally flat and (like I said above) are there to propel events forward.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Roald Dahl’s story of a little girl and giant gets a live action adaptation in the new movie The BFG . Director Steven Spielberg’s latest feature spins a kid friendly yarn that’s full of imagination and wonder, thanks to its source material, impressive CG visuals, and a terrific performance from Mark Rylance (hope he gets an Oscar nomination for this role).  While the movie struggles at points and has some pacing problems as well as removing Dahl’s darker elements, the movie still retains a whimsical and joyous fun. To me, it had its moments that could’ve been better and / or cut, but (as a whole) it was a good film for both Spielberg and its intended target audiences. That being said, I do recommend this movie (for younger viewers mostly), but it might be a spilt decision (an iffy choice) for everyone else on the account of those who wanted something more (either from adapting Dahl’s work or from Spielberg himself). In short, The BFG is a perfect suitable family adventure and a perfect fit underneath the “Disney” name / banner. It may not be incredibly awesome, but it has enough endearing qualities to be memorable in Dahl’s adapted feature films.

3.8 Out of 5 (Recommended / Iffy-Choice)

Released on: july 1st, 2016, reviewed on: july 2nd, 2016.

The BFG  is rated PG for action / peril, some scary moments and brief rude humor

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BFG was one of my favorite books as a kid! I have been a little nervous to see it on the big screen because I doubt it will live up to the wonderment of my childhood. However, I’ll probably give it a shot! Thanks for this review.

I thought The BFG was a faithful adaption with stunning special effects and excellent music. Would appreciate you checking out my 100 Word Review at https://scribblesofstageandscreen.com/2016/07/05/the-bfg-a-sweet-and-faithful-adaption/

Fine review! Apparently I liked this one a bit more than most. I really love how Spielberg dials it back and focuses more on the central relationship. It does have some missteps but ultimately I liked it better than expected.

While I have seen the trailer, I didn’t know too much about the BFG storyline so I haven’t seen it yet. Your review has given a good description of the background of the movie and enough details without giving all the good stuff away. It’s definitely piqued my interest.

Well, thank you for reading my review 🙂

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The BFG Is a Beautiful, Sleepy Children’s Epic

Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Roald Dahl’s book finds moments of CGI wonder in its two-hour run time, but little emotional power.

Those who have read Roald Dahl’s children’s book The BFG might find that their feelings about Steven Spielberg’s film adaptation depend on what they found most special about the story. If they were dazzled by the sheer scale of the world, and the idea of a small child living alongside building-sized people, then they’ll likely enjoy Disney’s visual extravaganza and forgive its barest semblance of a plot. But those who loved the vision of the Big Friendly Giant as a conjurer of dreams, a plain-spoken alchemist who wanders the streets of London like an overgrown Sandman, may find The BFG strangely lacking in wonder and feeling.

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On paper, The BFG seems like an obvious win for Spielberg. The film marked his reunion with the writer Melissa Mathison, who scripted his masterful children’s fable E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (though she sadly died last year) . It’s also the first big-screen version of Dahl’s beloved book and takes full advantage of all the fancy technology required to render the eponymous giant in all his big, friendly glory. But for all its awe-inspiring spectacle, The BFG is a children’s fable that’s more likely than not to bore kids to sleep with its truly languorous two-hour run time. It only really gathers momentum in its wonderful final act, by which point its target audience may have lost the thread.

But, first, the good: The highlight of The BFG is easily its star—Mark Rylance, Spielberg’s newest muse, who gave a performance of tragic simplicity and economy in the 2015 spy drama Bridge of Spies and collected an Oscar for it. There, Rylance played a Soviet agent who had long ago sublimated whatever passion he had for his cause, observing a colossal diplomatic crisis with the passivity of an office drone. Here, his BFG exudes explosive joy, rambling Dahl’s gleeful nonsense dialogue as he furrows and knits his CGI brow.

But the BFG has the same workmanlike, hardscrabble charm as Rudolf Abel of Bridge of Spies , and Rylance has again brought something transformational to a Spielberg film. He gives the kind of performance you can’t look away from, even with all the big-budget delights that abound. Every strange and garbled line, and even his incomprehensible mumbling as he shambles around his dream-cave chopping up giant yellow cucumbers, is engrossing. Rylance is highly gifted at the specific challenge of motion-capture acting, contorting his face into all kinds of silly shapes and sizes with remarkable grace.

The plot is where the film takes a step down. The BFG pretty faithfully follows the structure of Dahl’s book—Sophie, a plucky orphan played by newcomer Ruby Barnhill, is yanked from her bed by the giant after spotting him wandering the streets at night. He takes her back to Giant Country, where he’s revealed to be a mild-mannered runt living among a group of dunderheaded man-eating titans (performed by Jermaine Clement and Bill Hader, among others). Sophie’s initial suspicion is quickly put aside, and she becomes a valuable assistant to the BFG, whose job consists of creating dreams in an underground lab and blowing them into the ears of sleeping people.

If you guessed that this doesn’t sound like enough story to fill a two-hour film, you’d be right: Spielberg spends much of the running time marveling at the world he’s created, with Sophie a frustrated little bean running around the BFG’s oversized home. There are some mild dust-ups with the BFG’s brother giants, larger-bodied but lesser-brained bullies who rely on him for medical attention and sleep aids. There’s also the funny business of dream-catching, which sees the BFG and Sophie running around a big glowing tree dropping terms like “phizzwizzard” and “trogglehumper” with casual aplomb.

Scattered throughout the film are sequences of genuine splendor. The BFG, clad in his cape, leaping across the landscape of Britain to go to Giant Country, is reminiscent of the absolute best moments of Spielberg’s visual storytelling. Sophie cowering in the BFG’s gargantuan kitchen is worthy piece of big-budget showing-off. But there’s not the kind of grand emotional arc that made Spielberg’s best kids films like E.T. or Empire of the Sun so memorable. Sophie starts out willful and remains so the entire time, and while the BFG has to overcome some doubts about publicly mixing with humanity, he does so eventually without much fuss. The idea of dream-conjuring is reduced to a few images of dancing CGI shadows being mixed into a bottle; given the otherwise marvelous-looking world Spielberg has created, these scenes feel disappointingly flat.

The film does, however, build to an incredible climax straight out of Dahl’s book—one involving the very sensible Queen of England (Penelope Wilton), her loyal staff (including Rafe Spall and Rebecca Hall), a small posse of corgis, and an incredible amount of fart humor, deployed with as much subtlety as Spielberg can muster. After 100 minutes of snooze-invoking meandering in Giant Country, it’s the kind of singular spectacle that can charm audiences young and old. There’s just not enough of it to make The BFG anything more than a mid-tier children’s fable, a quickly forgettable confection that falls well short of the director’s greatest efforts.

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Mark Wahlberg's New Movie Is What The Sequel To Keanu Reeves' 95% Rotten Tomatoes Hit Should've Been

Jennifer lawrence adds another movie to her slate as she's set to star in graphic novel adaptation from a24, all 8 humphrey bogart war movies, ranked worst to best, steven spielberg's the bfg is a technically impressive adaptation of roald dahl's novel - one with whimsy and heart to spare..

The BFG  takes place in England in the 1980s; there, late one night, young orphan Sophie (Ruby Barnhill) is shocked to encounter a giant (Mark Rylance) - one who then proceeds to take Sophie with him to his home in Giant Country, lest she tell other people about his existence. Fortunately, it turns out that the giant is really a gentle spirit who, unlike other (and bigger) giants, eats vegetables rather than children; spends his nights delivering dreams to people around the world; and goes by the name of Big Friendly Giant or BFG for short. Sophie and the BFG are thus quick to become friends, as the latter introduces his new human "bean" companion to the secret wonders of his world - and ours.

However, Sophie's presence soon attracts unwanted attention from other giants - led by the bullying Fleshlumpeater (Jemaine Clement) - who are not only far larger than the BFG, but also invade the human world every night in order to snack on children. With help from the BFG, Sophie thus puts a plan in motion that, should it work, will rid the world of those blood-thirsty giants once and for all.

Adapted from the beloved 1982 children's novel of the same name by Roald Dahl, The BFG reunites director Steven Spielberg with his E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial screenwriter Melissa Mathison (who sadly passed away not longer after BFG wrapped production) for another fantasy adventure about the unexpected friendship between a child and a being not from our world. Although The BFG doesn't scale the same heights as Spielberg's best family-friendly offerings in the past, the movie is still a perfectly solid bit of whimsical entertainment - reminding the world yet again that Spielberg remains one of the best purely cinematic storytellers currently active.

Although Dahl's BFG source material is fully of imaginative creatures and locations that lend themselves to a film adaptation (see also the 1989 animated version of Dahl's story), it's not the type of plot-driven novel that naturally lends itself to a movie with a conventional three-act structure. Mathison's adapted script succeeds in making enough tweaks to Dahl's original narrative to give it more forward-momentum, without being too unfaithful to the text at the same time. Similarly, the film version of The BFG has a more clearly-defined thematic through-line than Dahl's source novel - providing kids with a useful anti-bullying message and lessons about the importance of learning to live in harmony with others (while, on a deeper subtextual level, inviting comparisons between the BFG and storytellers such as Mathison and Spielberg). Mathison's screenplay does rely on heavy-handed plot beats and removes some of the darker material in Dahl's book in order to make  The BFG a more wholesome story - but the final result is a worthwhile narrative, all the same.

The BFG himself, as played via performance-capture by Mark Rylance, is not only the highlight of the film - he's the most impressive humanoid motion-capture character ever created. Rylance follows his Oscar-winning turn in Spielberg's Bridge of Spies by delivering another richly-drawn performance; though one that is worlds apart from his previous role in a Spielberg film, in terms of personality and mannerisms. BFG's "giant talk" and tendency to speak in malapropisms are handled with ease by Rylance, while his facial expressions and physical movements provide the digitally-rendered giant with a beating heart that he would've lacked had he been solely a CGI creation. The bond that forms between The BFG and Sophie is all the more convincing thanks to newcomer Ruby Barnhill - who, as the smart and courageous, yet disciplined, young protagonist of the movie, is instrumental in not only selling Sophie and BFG's relationship, but also making the film's CGI environments and mo-cap characters all the more believable with her reactions.

On a related note: Spielberg and his longtime director of photography Janusz Kamiński improve on their work from the all-CGI Adventures of Tintin  with The BFG - seamlessly integrating real-life actors and practical sets/props into a movie that is otherwise visually-structured in the same mo-cap filmmaking style as Tintin . 3D is recommended for The BFG , as the movie offers a cutting-edge immersive viewing experience - effectively using techniques such as forced perspective to make the world of Giant Country seem all the more massive and gorgeous to behold, from the perspective of the much smaller Sophie (who, more often than not, blends in nicely with her surroundings). Attention to detail and the photo-realistic texture of the movie's various fantastical creatures and locations (especially the BFG's home) make it all the easier for viewers to feel truly immersed in its world. Of course, these effects can be enjoyed just as much in 2D - so if you prefer the latter screening format, you won't lose anything that significant by checking out a non-2D showing instead (the key thing is to watch The BFG for the first time in a theater).

The BFG does suffer from pacing issues during its third act, as the film introduces several new characters into the mix for a series of comedic sequences that are a bit too drawn-out (and self-indulgent), at the expense of the greater plot. The actual conflict in the film is pretty straight-forward too, as Fleshlumpeater (Jemaine Clement) is the only member of the villainous giants with a fully-formed personality - and though he's a memorable brute, he's also a flat villain. Nevertheless, The BFG 's supporting cast members - including, Penelope Wilton (D ownton Abbey ) and Rebecca Hall ( Iron Man 3 ) - do play their roles well; and closer to the end, the movie regains the forward momentum of its first two-thirds.

Steven Spielberg's The BFG is a technically impressive adaptation of Roald Dahl's novel - one with whimsy and heart to spare. It's not Spielberg's most sophisticated family-friendly offering (nor as poignant as it could have been), but it's a fine addition to the director's larger filmography - as well as another worthwhile fairy tale film released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner. Moviegoers who grew up loving Dahl's source material should find enough to enjoy about the Spielberg version to justify giving it a watch in theaters - and, in turn, feel comfortable using the movie to introduce the tale of Sophie's adventures with the Big Friendly Giant to a younger generation.

The BFG is now playing in U.S. theaters nationwide. It is 117 minutes long and is Rated PG for action/peril, some scary moments and brief rude humor.

Let us know what you thought of the film in the comments section.

The talents of three of the world’s greatest storytellers – Roald Dahl, Walt Disney and Steven Spielberg – finally unite to bring Dahl’s beloved classic “The BFG” to life. Directed by Spielberg, Disney’s “The BFG” tells the imaginative story of a young girl and the Giant who introduces her to the wonders and perils of Giant Country.

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The BFG, film review: Gorgeous and technically excellent – but not Spielberg at his best

It'll likely enrapture kids, but the lack of plot lets this roald dahl adaptation down, article bookmarked.

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There is a lot of windy popping going on in Spielberg’s live action adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The BFG . Mark Rylance plays the Big Friendly Giant as big-eared, rustic everyman who garbles his words in a way that makes him sound strangely like one of the Droogs in A Clockwork Orange . He has a slightly mournful air and only really cheers up when he is drinking his favourite potion, frobscottle, which makes him fart in a very spectacular fashion, or when he is blowing dreams into the bedrooms of kids.

For all its technical excellence and surrealistic flights of fancy, this isn’t Spielberg at full throttle. The film looks gorgeous and boasts all sorts of ingenious legerdemain and special effects. It is aimed at a young audience and is likely to enrapture plenty of kids at half-term. The problem is that this is really a very skimpy story – a two-hander at heart.

Early in the movie, bespectacled orphan Sophie (Ruby Barnhill) is plucked away to Giant Land by the BFG. At first, she is terrified to be in the giant’s lair but she quickly realises that he’s a very benign soul at heart. Rylance plays him as if he’’s a supersize version of Bernard Miles’ Joe Gargery in Great Expectations . It’s a very winning performance because it is such an understated one. We are in a very outlandish world but Rylance is a self-consciously humble figure. Just as he terrorises Sophie (inadvertently), he in turn is terrorised by the other giants, child-eating, uncouth types who tease him relentlessly and call him “microbe”.

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The BFG has some of the visual magic that you find in old Powell and Pressburger movies or in films like The Thief Of Bagdad . Spielberg uses another rousing John Williams score to drive the action along. At times, the film has the feel of a horror movie. When Sophie gets stuck in a snozzcumber, a disgusting vegetable in which she is trying to hide from a predatory giant, she ends up covered in utterly revolting goo and we seem to be straying into the world of Cronenberg-style body horror. The BFG also has some splendid comic set-pieces. Among the best of these is the scene when the giant crawls into the palace to meet the Queen (Penelope Wilton) and the corgis and has coffee with her.

This is another of Spielberg’s fables about lost and lonely kids. Sophie isn’t so far removed from the robot boy in search of his mother in A.I or little Jim adrift in wartime Shanghai in Empire Of The Sun . Inevitably, she turns out to be far tougher and more resourceful than she first appears. It’s an enjoyable affair but a very slight one with a plot that could have been sketched on the back of an envelope.

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The BFG review: Steven Spielberg’s take on Roald Dahl is all treacle, no spice

For a movie about dreams, this really lacks a powerful vision.

• By Tasha Robinson
• on July 1, 2016 12:36 pm

The fun thing about British author Roald Dahl has always been his authentic streak of malice. His children’s books, like Charlie And The Chocolate Factory , Matilda , The Witches , Fantastic Mr. Fox , and James And The Giant Peach , all have a subversive undercurrent of darkness and violence under the quirk. (His adult short stories aren’t as well known, but they’re terrific, and they add a frank, sometimes graphic sexuality to the mix.) The unapologetic ghoulishness is part of what makes Dahl’s work so appealing to kids, who tend to be even more fascinated with hints of gore and horror than adults are. Which may explain why Steven Spielberg’s film adaptation of Dahl’s book The BFG feels so sleepy and dull: It replaces most of the sense of threat with sentiment, and plays up the whimsy at the expense of any other emotion. It feels like a neutered version of Dahl, one without the gleeful derangement of Gene Wilder in the 1971 screen adaptation Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory , or Anjelica Huston in the 1990 version of The Witches . There are a few scary seconds here and there, but for the most part, this is a version of Dahl with the claws clipped, and it feels not just safe, but downright sleepy. The BFG started out as a bedtime story for Dahl’s granddaughter Sophie, which explains a lot of the content: the protagonist is a bossy, fearless little girl named Sophie (Ruby Barnhill) who’s kidnapped from her bed one night by a gangly giant ( Bridge Of Spies ’ Mark Rylance, heavily digitally altered to expand his ears, nose, neck, and hands.) Sophie is a quintessential Dahl heroine, wise beyond her years and more capable than the ineffectual adults around her. When Sophie learns that the Big Friendly Giant has spent his entire long life watching his much bigger, dumber, and more aggressive siblings eat children, she hatches a plan to stop them.

The giants' unwieldy names and unpleasant habits are taken straight from Dahl's book, and they represent Spielberg's one concession to the original version's creepiness: Giants like Fleshlumpeater (Flight Of The Conchords' Jemaine Clement), Bloodbottler (Bill Hader), and Childchewer (Jonathan Holmes) at least sound pretty ghastly. But The BFG plays them more like schoolyard bullies than monsters. They're malicious, but slow and predictable, and the film veers away from their kid-eating activities except by implication. Spielberg and late screenwriter Melissa Mathison (who also scripted his E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial more than 30 years ago) spend much more of the film's run time focusing on the digital wonderland of Giant Country, where The BFG runs around netting brightly colored, firefly-like dreams and popping them into bottles, so he can later blow them up sleepers' noses. A surprising percentage of the movie is just devoted to The BFG explaining himself and his life to Sophie, revealing how his immense ears let him listen to the voices of the trees and the music of the stars, or how much he enjoys a fizzy concoction called frobscottle that causes explosive green flatulence.

All those explanations build an elaborate world via colorful malapropisms. The BFG has no formal education, and tends to "say things a little squiggly," complete with his own elaborate Dahlian vocabulary: Those frobscottle-induced farts are whizpoppers; a good, satisfying dream is a phizzwizard; a particularly bad nightmare is a trogglehumper, and so forth. But an awful lot of the film just consists of Honey, I Shrunk The Kids antics. Like Sophie interacting with giant-sized furnishings and colorful digital backdrops, or climbing into a disgusting, drippy vegetable to hide, or falling into a mixing bowl and rolling around. None of this disguises the fact that not a lot happens in The BFG , and even the action is excruciatingly padded and erratically paced. The film's best scene — The BFG's quick-moving, silent flight across London as he whisks Sophie away from her home — is visually clever and tightly paced, and it just emphasizes how sleepy and plodding the rest of the story is. Even when Sophie comes up with a plan, it proceeds glacially, with the characters explaining what they plan to do, then leaving long, slack gaps in the story while they do it.

Spielberg's weakness has always been wonder and whimsy at the expense of forward movement, and here, he's working with Walden Media, the Christian entertainment company that's built an ethos out of producing effects-heavy, pointedly wholesome kids' movies like Bridge To Terabithia , The Water Horse , City Of Ember , and the recent live-action Narnia movies. Walden's films have a particular glossy, unreal digital look, and The BFG is no exception. Spielberg is an old hand with special effects, but here, the world looks artificial and shiny to a fault, and Sophie's interactions with it are reminiscent of the stiff integration of animation and live action in Disney's Bedknobs And Broomsticks . There's nothing seamless or casual about the way The BFG picks her up, or the way she clambers around his den; it's all garish, showy artifice, and she never entirely feels like part of his world.

(Walt Disney Pictures)

The BFG does closely follow Dahl's book, which is as much about building a mutually satisfying relationship between two lonely people as it is about the menace of people-eating giants. Spielberg's an experienced adapter, having brought Jaws and Jurassic Park , War Of The Worlds , and Duel to the screen. But he never finds a streak of action in The BFG to match those films, or a sense of the human experience or the meaningful characters from those stories. It's partially a problem with the source material, which is small, quirky, and not paced like a fantasy film. But it's also a problem with Spielberg's tone, which hovers around awe and delight in the film's strongest moments, and can't find anything equally powerful to fill out the long slack periods while waiting for something meaningful to happen.

At least The BFG lacks the strident messaging of so many kids' films. Even though the story centers closely on dreams (in a fuzzy, abstract, sentimental sort of way), there's no "Follow your dreams, you can do anything" message here. If anything, The BFG is melancholy about the compromises of adulthood, and the difficulty of choosing one life path at the expense of others. That's a mighty heady direction for a kids' fantasy to take, and the conversation Sophie and her giant have about her future feels like the film's one strange concession to subversiveness and sadness. But mostly, there's a smug contentment to this story that perversely isn't very satisfying. The BFG shows it's possible for a film to feel completely inert, even if it's constantly in motion.

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• Entertainment
• Review: Spielberg’s <i>BFG</i> Honors Roald Dahl’s Spirit, Farts and All

Review: Spielberg’s BFG Honors Roald Dahl’s Spirit, Farts and All

Steven Spielberg , mostly to his credit but sometimes to his detriment, has an affinity for fantasy extravaganzas that aren’t wholly safe and cozy, pictures that come laced with a sense of menace. Occasionally, there’s a nasty misfire, like 1997’s too-sadistic The Lost World: Jurassic Park . Other examples of fantastical Spielbergiana like Minority Report and A.I. Artificial Intelligence are patchily imaginative but undone by excessive moralism. But with The BFG —which opens in July in the United States, and which is playing out of competition here in Cannes—Spielberg gets the tone just right. An adaptation of Roald Dahl’s 1982 children’s book about a giant—a Big Friendly one, that is—who befriends a little orphan girl, The BFG is a big picture, all right. This ambitious blend of live action and computer animation runs the risk of being overwhelming and sterile, but it turns out to be a pleasing and sweet-natured adventure thanks in large part to Spielberg’s big, friendly secret weapon: Mark Rylance , as the BFG himself.

All of Dahl’s work is marked by a pleasurable nastiness, as well as delight in disorderly behavior. Though Spielberg and screenwriter Melissa Mathison—with the permission of the author’s estate—have somewhat expanded and changed Dahl’s story, The BFG honors the author’s whimsical, waggishness impropriety. (This is the final screenplay from Mathison , the screenwriter of E.T.: The Extraterrestrial, who died in November 2015.) The heroine of the story is young Sophie (played by Ruby Barnhill, who’s spikily precocious without being overly cute), a London orphan whose intelligence and imagination are stoked by the books she loves to read. One night, Sophie is plucked from the orphanage by a giant hand and whisked away to a place she doesn’t realize. When she’s plunked into a frying pan, she fears she’ll soon become something, or someone’s, dinner. As it turns out, she’d been kidnaped, in a kindly sort of way, by a vegetarian giant who means no harm: This gangly, skyscraper-tall fellow, with knobby knees and elbows, and ears that flare out like sugarbowl handles, is the Big Friendly Giant (a computer-enhanced but instantly recognizable Rylance), and Sophie, after she overcomes her fear of him, shortens his name to BFG for convenience’s sake.

The BFG explains to Sophie that she’s now in Giant Country, though because he jumbles and mangles his words, and hasn’t had a lick of schooling, he pronounces “giant” like “joint.” (Even he acknowledges his mastery of the English language is “a bit crumply.”) Sophie learns all about his solitary life: He’s the smallest of the giants in Giant Country, and the others, gargantuan, booming individuals with terrible manners bully him incessantly. (Bill Hader and Jemaine Clement supply the voices for two of them.) They also insist on a diet of “human beans,” while the BFG subsists on bumpy, slimy, foul-smelling cucumberlike vegetable known as a snozzcumber.

The BFG is also a giant with a big job: He captures dreams and seals them in glass jars—where they glow in translucent, jellybean colors—before using a massive trumpet to blow them into the minds of humans as they sleep. Sophie accompanies the BFG on his dream-catching rounds, where she witnesses the other giants’ mistreatment of him. She hatches a plan to stop them from harassing the BFG, and to end their diet of human protein, by enlisting the help of the Queen (Penelope Wilton).

It’s sensibly ridiculous, as solutions go, and Spielberg takes clear pleasure in it: The sequence in which the BFG visits Buckingham Palace and introduces the queen—not to mention her corgis—to his favorite drink, a fizzy, flatulence-inducing libation called frobscottle, is joyously chaotic without being overwhelming. For such a big, extravagant movie, with such an outsized central character, The BFG is surprisingly intimate, and that’s largely thanks to Rylance: His BFG is a fragile, gentle soul with clumsy feet clad in hippie-sandals, a bit frightening at first, but he wins us over in a heartbeat. His higglety-pigglety cadences and incessant malapropisms—“butterflies” become “buttery-flies,” for example—come to sound like music, and his eyes are sad and warm and exuberant at once. He’s a giant too big for the world and yet fully alive to it. At one point he reads Sophie to sleep with a snippet from her copy of Nicholas Nickleby, holding the tiny book in his hands as if it were a grand, miniature treasure. He needs a magnifying glass to see the minuscule type, but as he reads aloud, the words come out in great, rolling waves. Even for giants, God is in the details.

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The BFG (2016)

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Tv/streaming, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, black writers week, the 10 best fourth of july releases of the 21st century.

The Independence Day holiday is one of the biggest spots on the annual film calendar—a time when most people are on vacation and studios offer up potential blockbusters—and this year is no different, with “Despicable Me 4” taking over theaters and “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” landing on Netflix. For a while, Will Smith dominated the holiday thanks to “ Independence Day ” and “Men in Black,” but that was long ago. Which Fourth of July films have defined the last few decades?

That’s the task I’ve assigned myself, selecting the 10 best Independence Day releases of this century. Determining what constitutes an “Independence Day release” can be a little tricky sometimes—depending on when the Fourth of July falls on the weekly calendar, the holiday’s big movie release can drop right after the actual day, the logic being that more people will be off work that subsequent weekend. Also, I didn’t consider any indie/arthouse movies since they’re meant to be counterprogramming to the big tent poles. (This meant leaving off gems like “ Swimming Pool ,” “ Before Sunset ,” “Summer of Soul,” and so many others.)

What can be learned from my Top 10? Not surprisingly, many of the films are sequels or reboots, although there is the occasional literary adaptation or real-life tale. (There’s even a musical.) Also, I discovered that coming up with ten worthy films was harder than I imagined. I think those two observations are connected—the more Hollywood leans toward I.P., the more potentially formulaic its films become. But that said, I’m pretty pleased with this list—especially the stunners at the top of the rankings. Have a good Fourth, everybody.

10. “ The Amazing Spider-Man ” (2012)

It is indicative of the general level of quality of Fourth of July films this century that this good-enough reboot sneaks onto the list. Released just five years after Tobey Maguire ’s final Spider-Man installment, “The Amazing Spider-Man” cast “Social Network” star Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker, offering another spin on the Webslinger’s origin story. With Emma Stone as Peter’s endearing love interest Gwen Stacy, this take on Spider-Man is entertaining, and Garfield certainly does a fine job as the beloved superhero. But “The Amazing Spider-Man” seemed unnecessary coming out so quickly after the Maguire trilogy. The prevailing feeling from watching this movie was a weird sense of déjà vu—a troubling feeling of “Wait…this again?”

9. “ The BFG ” (2016)

A financial disappointment, Steven Spielberg ’s adaptation of Roald Dahl ’s novel proves to be a fascinating, albeit somewhat uneven, melding of director and source material. On paper, “The BFG” feels akin to the Oscar-winner’s “E.T.”—young misfit bonds with incredible creature—but the author’s Britishness and darkness don’t entirely mesh with Spielberg’s more wholesome tendencies. (As Wes Anderson ’s recent Dahl shorts demonstrate, he’s far more attuned to Dahl’s sensibility.) As a result, the film is slightly underrated, finding Spielberg returning to his family-friendly mode later in life, but with a melancholy that wasn’t there in his earlier career. And Mark Rylance , who had just won an Oscar in Spielberg’s “ Bridge of Spies ,” is superb as the Big Friendly Giant, whose soulful spirit is nicely embodied by the veteran actor.

8. “ Ant-Man and the Wasp ” (2018)

Where other Marvel movies were constantly dealing with planetary or galactic stakes, “Ant-Man and the Wasp” was agreeably small-scaled, the action focused on the titular characters dealing with domestic issues and some baddies in San Francisco. Funnier and fleeter than its 2015 predecessor, this sequel capitalized on the chemistry between Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly , who are among the funniest duos in the MCU, joined by a very amusing Michael Douglas and newcomer-to-the-franchise Michelle Pfeiffer as Douglas’ long-lost wife Janet, who is stuck in the Quantum Realm. The modesty and fun of “Ant-Man and the Wasp” would be sorely missed as Marvel strained in subsequent years to produce bigger and bigger spectacles, none of them containing a fraction of this film’s sizable charm.  

7. “ Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines ” (2003)

In the early 2000s, Jonathan Mostow looked like he might be one of the next big studio directors. Both “ Breakdown ” and “ U-571 ” demonstrated that he could do a lot with relatively small budgets, and as his reward he was handed the keys to one of Hollywood’s most exciting franchises. The problem, of course, was that the idea of a Terminator film without James Cameron seemed ludicrous. Undaunted, Mostow delivered “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,” which brought back Arnold Schwarzenegger as the titular robot sent to protect John Connor ( Nick Stahl ) from a new robot assassin, the T-X ( Kristanna Loken ). With Claire Danes as the woman who will eventually be John’s wife, this follow-up to “ Terminator 2: Judgment Day ” wasn’t as visionary as the series’ first two installments—Mostow was more expert craftsman than brilliant auteur—but it’s a compelling action film that suggested this franchise might have a future without Cameron. Turns out, that wasn’t true: If anything, “Rise of the Machines” looked better and better as later sequels proved increasingly disappointing.

6. “ Magic Mike XXL ” (2015)

The first “ Magic Mike ” opened about a week before Independence Day 2012, making it ineligible for this list. But the sequel, which hit theaters on July 1, 2015, more than deserves a spot in the rankings. With director Gregory Jacobs taking the reins from frequent collaborator Steven Soderbergh , “Magic Mike XXL” amplifies the original’s crowd-pleasing, sultry spirit. Few recent films have been more devoted to giving viewers exactly what they want, filling the screen with Channing Tatum ’s hunky Mike and his stripper buddies as they go on a pleasure-seeking road trip. Matthew McConaughey ’s Dallas wasn’t a part of “Magic Mike XXL,” but the sequel was more than all right, all right, all right without him—there were plenty of jokes and beefcake to go around. 

5. “ The Devil Wears Prada ” (2006)

The comedy that introduced Emily Blunt to mainstream filmgoers helped Anne Hathaway transition away from “Princess Diaries” fame to adult stardom and gave Meryl Streep one of her funniest roles, “The Devil Wears Prada” wasn’t just a summer smash but a legitimate sensation, the film still named and quoted today. Based on Lauren Weisberger ’s novel, “The Devil Wears Prada” celebrated and skewered the glamor and self-importance of the fashion industry while also taking shots at nightmare bosses, lame boyfriends, and the publishing industry. Nowadays, a movie like this might be relegated to a streaming service—romantic comedies are becoming an endangered species on the big screen—but back in 2006, this was a wholly pleasurable blockbuster. 

4. “ Public Enemies ” (2009)

For all the love Michael Mann ’s movies get online, this true-life crime saga is often overlooked. That’s a shame, because “Public Enemies” is among his most gripping films, a look at infamous bank robber John Dillinger ( Johnny Depp ) and the FBI agent, Melvin Purvis ( Christian Bale ), determined to take him down. That description might make the film sound like “Heat Redux.” Still, Mann is fascinated by the ways in which Dillinger was viewed as a Depression-era antihero—many rooted against Purvis and the authorities—and, also, how Purvis adopted crime-fighting techniques that, at the time, were considered groundbreaking. (It’s remarkable to think, in the 1930s, fingerprinting was cutting-edge law enforcement.) Not surprisingly, “Public Enemies” is meticulously crafted, but what’s most striking is the film’s deep ambivalence for an era in which the cops were as unscrupulous as the crooks, leading to a very unromantic portrait of a period that’s regularly draped in sepia tones. Also, it contains one of Depp’s last good performances. 

3. “ Spider-Man 2 ” (2004)

Many people’s favorite Spidey movie is where Tobey Maguire and director Sam Raimi built off the mega-success of the 2002 original, producing a more emotional and layered sequel. It didn’t hurt that “Spider-Man 2” had a superior villain, Alfred Molina ’s brilliant Doctor Octopus, and a resonant but subtle post-9/11 message about the resilience of New York in the wake of unspeakable evil. Plus, it contains among the most emotional passages in any action set piece—I’m referring, of course, to the scene when, after Peter Parker saves the lives of everyone aboard a speeding-out-of-control subway train, the passengers rescue him from falling to his death. His mask off, Peter realizes that all these people now know Spider-Man’s true identity—and we have no doubt they won’t reveal it to the world. Blockbusters rarely contain such human moments. 

2. “ War of the Worlds ” (2005)

Steven Spielberg’s filmography is so vast now that he has a movie for every tone and sensibility. But at the time, people weren’t prepared for an action film this dark from him. Before “War of the Worlds,” extraterrestrials tended to be benevolent figures in his film. Not here: Based on the H.G. Wells novel, this was a frightening, nearly relentless nerve-jangler in which some really nasty aliens invade Earth and start incinerating the populace. Tom Cruise ’s high-intensity performances are usually yoked to escapist fare, but in “War of the Worlds” he’s arresting as a divorced father who’s pretty awkward around his kids ( Justin Chatwin , Dakota Fanning ) but must do everything in his power to keep them alive. The paranoia and dread of Spielberg’s film felt far removed from the comparatively lighter menace of, say, “ Jurassic Park ” or “ Jaws .” Indeed, in “War of the Worlds” he’s clearly plugging into the trauma of 9/11, delivering a scarring vision of apocalypse that had unnerving cultural relevance. 

1. “ Hamilton ” (2020)

The pandemic summer of 2020 was a deeply strange time, with most theaters closed and summer movie season essentially canceled. In that entertainment void, Disney decided to unveil its big-screen “Hamilton” earlier than planned, releasing the movie over the Fourth of July holiday directly on its streaming site. Not a film adaptation but, rather, a filmed version of the stage show, this version reminded those who had seen the Tony-winning musical how great it was. And for those of us who didn’t catch it on stage, well, the film sure was ample compensation. Telling the story of little-heralded Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda delivered one of this century’s defining works, earning so much praise that a backlash was inevitable. But only chronic cynics could deny director Thomas Kail ’s excellent capturing of a dynamite show, keeping the gimmicks to a minimum and just letting those incredible tunes and masterful performances take center stage. For newcomers, this is where you got to learn why Daveed Diggs , Renée Elise Goldsberry , Jonathan Groff , Leslie Odom Jr. and Anthony Ramos became instant legends—and, also, why your theater-nerd friends wouldn’t shut up about what a genius Miranda is. So many Independence Day releases celebrate spectacle, but few embody the complex beauty of this country and its history. This one does, ravishingly.

Tim Grierson

Tim Grierson is the Senior U.S. Critic for  Screen International . 

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