The BFG Review

"Because I hears your lonely heart, in all the whisperings of the world."


The BFG was directed by Steven Spielberg (the one and only!) and is based on the classic novel written by Roald Dahl. The film stars the likes of Mark Rylance as the BFG, Ruby Barnhill as Sophie, Penelope Wilton as The Queen. The film follows the encounter between the BFG and Sophie as they build a close friendship together and follows there journey trying to rid Giant Country from evil giants who enjoy eating human beings (called beans in this film!)

Now lets start off the review by saying what I enjoyed about the film. I just got to mention that Mark Rylance's performance as the BFG and Ruby Barnhills performance as Sophie was really good and they both have really strong chemistry on screen together, which is just amazing considering the fact that Ruby was performing all on her own acting with a CGI character which for someone of that age is amazing (very similar to in this years The Jungle Book). Mark Rylance also does an amazing job and really brings out the BFG's charming characteristic and really makes you as an audience member connect with the character and really feel for him as well, Mark's performance reminded me of a grandfather figure with charming elements and also a hint of silliness that really brings the character to life. I also thought the cinematography and CGI in this film was stunning especially in the dream catching sequence, it was literally some of the most beautiful CGI I have seen in ages and really created some really beautiful (and I mean BEAUTFUL!) sequences. The film also has a lot of heart as well, and for me really moves you and gives you a warm feeling inside as you really do start to relate to the characters on screen and understand the lives of these characters as well, not many films are able to make characters so relatable that you connect to them on such a high level but for me this film really does succeed in that area.

There were some areas of the film that did disappoint me a little for example for me personally the start of the film really seemed like it dragged a lot and it seemed to take a while to set up the characters in the film and actually what was going on in the film, this was mainly when Sophie first encountered "Giant Country", there really did seem like there was a lot being set up and seemed to really take its time in doing so but at the end of the day for me it was worth the wait but for some people I know this will be a problem and will effect there opinion on the film (hang in there its worth it!). Also another area of the film that I was not to sure on was the actual other giants who live in "Giant Country", as an audience member I really did not find them scary or threatening at all, I remember watching the original animated film as a child and being scared of the giants but in this film I wasn't scared of intimated by them at all and that was a little disappointing for me as I really did not feel like Sophie was in that much danger at all. I think the problem with this was down to the fact that the filmmakers decided to make the giants more silly and childish rather than making them truly terrifying and threatening. With names like Bonecruncher, Fleshlumpeater, Bloodbottler and Meatdripper you expect a certain level of scariness but for me there really wasn't any of that (Just my opinion)

Overall I would highly recommend this film, there are some really good performances and some really stunning cinematography and CGI sequences in this film and if you love the original animated film or the novel then I am certain that you will really enjoy watching the latest adaption of Roald Dahl's The BFG.

Verdict: 4 out 5 Stars