OMG that’s awesome I could have used that for my movie review blog as that was my exact rating for the film slamdunkorjunk.blogspot.com/2024/05/if-movie-review.html
💯 my wife was falling asleep and my kid was in and out but I felt like a dad forcing a kid like “Hey this a family movie right “ instead of just playing a quiet place lol
Definitely like the idea of Dan doing more spoiler reviews. As he said in The Marvels review he's a very story- focused guy, and he's very good at analyzing narrative beats, character arcs, setup and pay-off, etc. Definitely would be interested in seeing more of these type of reviews.
I would like to point out that this has the same basic premise of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, a cartoon whose main imaginary friend is named... Bloo. Kinda weird.
I’ll echo the comments of I love the non-spoiler/spoiler format! Please keep doing this as I personally tend to see movies as soon as they release and love hearing spoiler thoughts asap.
Aww man that was a missed Opportunity to reference that show in the movie. The movie itself had Harvey playing a TV and I saw a Calvin and Hobbes book in the scenery as easter eggs to other IP that involve Imaginary Friends.
I kept thinking about how Where the Wild Things Are while watching IF. To me that handled the concepts of imaginary friends and childhood anguish so much more authentically, and despite being more abstract was actually a lot easier to follow. Very underrated movie.
We went last night with our six kids, age 8-18. Most of the emotion was lost on the 8yo, the next oldest kept trying to predict things (and she was pretty close), and all the other kids took what resonated with them and mostly ignored the rest. My wife cried. I laughed and got musty eyed. The way I see it, Bo’s mom and dad brought wonder into her life, and that’s what brought in Cal when she was little. Her mom died when she was young, so she had to grow up fast. Cal came back in as a stand in for her father ti tell her it’s okay to be a kid. And it was evident early in the the sequences with her mom, that she had a a gray imagination and was good at crafting things. Her transforming the retirement home into a more fun, wonder-filled place was her tapping into that again and showing us she may be able to do the same for others. Her dad kept trying to remind her to be a kid each time she’d visit him in the hospital, so Cal was there as a stand in for him. I see her as like the “most powerful imagination user,” so that’s why she was tapped to help the other IFs reunite with their former kids. So yes, you have three movies, BUT it’s like a trilogy in one film. I liked it a lot.
There's a solid cartoon that aired in the mid 2000s, Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends, that I'd recommend children watch over this. Still really holds up with good laughs, characters, and basically the same message but given more time to build up and pay off. One of the last great cartoons Cartoon Network produced.
I don't understand the point of hiring big name celebrities to do voices in kids animated movies. The kids won't know who these people are. Do adults really care if they recognize someone's voice? And hasn't it been shown that outside of maybe Tom Cruise, celebrity names don't really pull in people to theater anymore? Why not hire professional voice actors?
I think it's more why pay that much money for them when they may have only 3 or 4 lines at best? I felt the same way with much of "TMNT: Mutant Mayhem", like half of their starry names on the poster only have possible 3 or 4 minutes of dialogue in the entire film if they are lucky. They are just really needy to feel having big names for the poster means more than anything rather than the brand.
My sense of things is that it's for the adults. It's to give your brain that little kick when you say, "Hey, I recognize that voice!", and then you picture the person in your head doing the voice, and it makes it a little funnier. I think that's why Robin Williams' genie worked so well. :)
@@suave-rider There is a .01% of people who agree with your opinion, I actually believe once you read this it'll be lowered because Deadpool and Wolverine is right around the corner. BUT you can hold on to that envy and see where it gets you in life.
It’s such an odd thing, but not unique. Dante’s Peak came out about the same time as Volcano, and Armageddon was pretty much concurrent with Deep Impact. I’m sure there are tonnes of other examples,but those are the two famous ones I remember.
Mom, can we have Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends? No, we have Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends at home. Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends at home:
And then the next movie in the series of If, then “But” will be “If/Then”, and it’ll be all about writing acceptance criteria for software development project tasks
So it's a movie about how it's okay for a preteen to go off with a late 40's guy to go looking for imaginary friends? I guess this is why it received five stars from "Child Pageant Fan Monthly".
I just saw If tonight with my kids. Your review is so spot on. You are almost verbatim describing my inner dialogue as I was watching the film. Great job.
It feels like the collaborative process of creative oversight in film making is like editing in publishing. Something that can polish and enhance the final product. Constraints feed creativity, something that we see time and again - there’s nothing like a deadline to break down writing blocks (says the person who wrote a well-received eulogy a couple of days ago, about two hours before the funeral). So it would be nice if the importance of constraints and boundaries, like budget or studio approval, were more widely recognised in the industry.
I just got out of IF and I’m glad to know my opinions are reassured now after seeing your review. I was just left confused cause in the areas where there should be exposition, there’s barely any. I really wanna know what was left on the cutting room floor
@@suave-rider it’s not that they’re unlikeable, but a feeling on indifference on them. Not enough story given to like them or not. Just face value of characters and the story is banking on that you’ll read into them enough that you’ll eventually feel something for them, but fails to happen.
Saw the movie today. I liked it. It had a dark tone to it. I feel like the director is trying to make us think deeper about our inner self when watching this movie.
Really curious to see how this movie is going to perform. I struggle to remember a movie where I've been bombarded with promotional material like this for months and months, despite being the opposite of the target audience. So I guess the studio has high hopes for the film, despite it now being a bit mid apparently.
Thank you Dan for this review! It helped me decide whether to see it or not. Also, I like the new format of the full review with no spoilers and then spoilers at the end.
Just want to say I love the idea of doing a non spoiler and spoiler review all in one. I often watch the movie on Thursday or Friday and end up watching your review after I've already seen the movie. So this will be a great way for me to also hear your complete thoughts on the full movie. ❤️
My 12 year old pointed out to me that she thought it was creepy that a grown man was sneaking into a little girls bedroom and hiding under her bed then having a bunch of kids pictures on his desk. Then she didn't understand why a little kid would go with a strange man on a bus to a abandoned park.🤔
In a cartoon world,we want to believe in the innocence and goodness of humanity (per say)..but there will always be those who instead of enjoying the beautiful hues of a sunset,recognize all the evil lurking just behind our shoulders. Yes,thank you for reminding us that evil is all around so - everywhere!! And I imagine you would want to ban books because as we know there are families shown to be hugging too closely.
@@valeriereneeharper Yeah,like the 12 year old wrote this. Yet you perhaps don't understand the gist of my comment - it is the parents who create a world of fear and distrust. Oh don't bother,I know you will say the fear is real - and so it is. But it doesn't absolve you from creating the world from which the child has to navigate. And we are the ones who drown them in a digital world full of evil and pornography,violence and anxiety. But you're the smart one with your collective sheep mentality to merely agree with the herd -lol..but refuse to understand that your righteousness is fear mongering at its worse. You offer nothing but ignorance.
@@valeriereneeharper It is the loss of innocence that I bemoan. Yet your righteousness- your sheep mentality to agree with the herd - offers nothing but indignation. Yes,a child needs to be aware of the evil lurking - everyone is suspect. Everyone. And people wonder why our children are maturing into sheltered weak vessels of anxiety and depression. They grow up fearing the evil machinations all around them because why? Because it is the world we've given them..a world of evil at their fingertips- violence, pornography, hopelessness. So laugh all you want Valerie,and offer nothing except your compliance to the herd.
I haven't seen the movie, but most of the problems that it seems to have are exactly what a good editor is there to solve. They are the unsung heroes of every good movie ever made. They are the movie storytellers. It's the reason so many famous directors find and then stick to a certain editor for all or most of their movies.
totally agree with you on all your points!! The movie seems to try way too hard to extract emotion from you but the story just didn't flow naturally. You know there is a problem when the movie has problems explaining the concept of the IF placement. What if they're not placed, what if they don't want to leave their kid, etc. Would have been more interesting just exploring the IF premise than this mishmash. Also, why make the father's sickness so mysterious? So many things done with no payoff, leaving the audience (at least me) unsatisfied
I had a whole section on that in my spoiler comments that I flat-out just forgot to record! SPOILERS The dad's illness was so weird because he didn't really seem like he needed to be in the hospital for that long to begin with. Then they had to rush there, making it sound like he was seconds away from dying, but when they got there he looked like he was just resting comfortably and the nurses said "he just needs to rest." So why the urgency? Also, I THINK he had heart surgery, but then Bea throws herself on his chest after her big monologue. If that was heart surgery, I'm not sure that's the most helpful sign of affection!
@@DanMurrellMovies also the dad seemed constantly in a fugue, playing weird pranks and making jokes worst than Dad jokes. That line about him being broken, not sick just sounded so ominous. Then he got better just in time for the ending. Really felt like several rewrites happened and that entire plot got axed. Just so many unnecessary scenes. It started out pretty economically, with scenes of the mother in bald hat and Bea looking through photos, reminding me of Up. Then it took a left turn and never went back. Felt it probably would have been better if it was less ambitious and focused on just telling one story well rather than maybe half a dozen poorly
When every character is grating and unlikeable, you have a problem connecing with the audience. I hated the entire movie especially that kid in the hospital.
Will be interesting to see how this does at the box office. We have not had a lot of big live action family movies like this for a while (that are not remakes like Aladian or IP franchise movies like Sonic etc). I wonder if familes will show up, or like a lot of movies recently , hold out for some more familar like Garfield , Despicable me 4 etc for wait for IF to hit streaming
@@TwinRiver100 Also, with the price for familes to go to the theatres being so high, I wonder if some will not take the risk to see pay to see this movie, in case the childen get bored + want to leave, and again wait for a safer bet like Despicable me, Sonic etc that they know their children already like.
I liked this format! There’s some movies that I already know I don’t really care to watch, and I want to support you and watch all your videos, but I’d rather have the no spoiler and spoiler reviews combined in one video.
I mostly agree with your review but the emotion really landed for me so I loved it. I thought the score was incredibly charming as well. I’m recommending my friends with kids to go see it
One day we're going to find out that Brad Pitt has been invisible in every film in the past few decades. Only some of them can we see him or mention him.
lol. Your review here was virtually Word for Word. My thoughts on it as well. Decent movie, but could have been great with more direction and a tighter story. I thought SteveCarell, who I normally love struggle here “trying“ to deliver something magical.
If is a great movie is about imagery friends and how incorpating those childhood imagination to adult life to inspire us to create and hope for a better future. Each human creates an avatar for each experience and the one that is used the most is the one that bring the dopamine and the avatar that does gets discarded. By incorporating each of ourselfs into a whole being.
Just tell me if its a secret Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends tie in. If not it will lower the score for “spitting in the face of my childhood and all I hold dear”
I'm all for reviews that split themselves into Non-Spoiler and Spoiler after the movie or show has been released. Something like IF where I don't care about spoilers, it is nice to have your full thoughts. For shows like Fallout, I watched the non-spoiler part of your review, then came back for the spoiler portion when I finished the show.
Dan, love your spoiler talks. Keep them coming after the movies are out. If Quiet Place was not done, I would say this is an okay directorial debut. But after 2 Quiet Place movies, this could and should be a lot better. As an adult, it is a Sixth Sense movie, and the hint was not every subtle. I think John Krasinski wants to do a movie for the whole family, but I agree with you, it is too slow for kids and not enough stuff for adults.
I went with my family (2 kids, parents, grand parent, and great aunt). Kids both really enjoyed it (though one was too young to understand the opening fully, but knew what the later scene with the dad meant). Biggest complaint would be the ads/trailers did not really convey the movie at all - it was more mature than expected, more serious, and less goofy fun. Think the whole group liked it though, overall
I agree. Who was the intended audience? Based on trailers, I assumed it was children. I expected it to be about Blue and rehoming his (imaginary) friends. (No trailer gave me the vibe it was about reuniting with their child, now adult.) The family drama stuff was unexpected and felt like a bait & switch. I could have done without that. Honestly, I thought it was going to have the same vibe as "Sing." At the end though, it felt more like "Homeward Bound," a movie that seems for children but punches you in the gut. In the movie, on the Grandma's TV, she's watching "Harvey," I think, so the movie definitely had lofty goals. I figured out pretty early on what the twist was.
I think there was something wrong with the projector when I saw this. The film was zoomed in too much and we couldn't see the names of half the filmmakers in the opening credits.
It's three months after this review and the movie tanked at the box office. I just saw "IF" on Parmount+, followed by the spoiler part of this review. Wow, was this review spot-on. I can see the three separate movies partially crammed together. There were a lot of things that I found interesting in this movie, but they just didn't connect well. Blue was annoying. The IFs themselves are visually wonderful. The parts where they had physical interactions with items in the real world bothered me because doors mysteriously opening and laundry moving about should have seemed odd to everyone. The 12-year-old Bea's disappearing into NYC for entire days with seemingly little concern from her Grandmother were worrying.... and Bea's ability to buy infinite bouquets of flowers and food seemed odd. The music sometimes blared so loudly that I had to reduce volume to avoid bothering people in adjoining rooms, but it definitely let me know how I should be feeling.
I just went to see it. It was worth watching once. I can't imagine watching it over and over. I really would have loved more of a story focusing on the IFs. There were some pretty fun ones. I loved the old bear and the spy the most. I honestly feel they should have left the whole health issues with dad story line as that slowed it down and moved everything away from the Ifs.
rehoming imaginary friends and a main imaginary friend Blue... i think the makers of Fosters home of imaginary friends has a case j/k; but gotta say this puts me in the mood to try and rewatch Fosters
I genuinely liked “IF”, it reminded me a lot of “My Neighbor Totoro” where it is about an imaginary friend and a girl dealing with the trauma of loss of family. I think the strange pacing is intentional, as it feels like Miyazaki’s other more recent movie “Boy and the Heron” where it’s hard to tell what is real and what was maybe in her imagination. It all feels very dream like in it’s pacing. Not saying this is as good as Miyazaki film, but I feel like Krasinski took inspiration from those films and tried to translate them to an American audience.
It did bring up some strong emotions at a few points, and seeing the IFs was kind of fun, but the plot was so disjointed, I felt like I was watching some selected clips from a TV series rather than an actual movie. Like the whole subplot about the father's surgery turns out to be inconsequential, they could have cut Krasinski's character entirely and just had Bea living with her grandma after losing her parents, and it would have been basically the same movie. The whole sequence in the IF retirement home was entertaining, but it didn't do anything to advance the plot. I would have liked to see a lot more IF-kid reunions, I kept waiting for Bea to get into the swing of things and reunite every IF in the home with their kid, so it was pretty underwhelming that we just got 2.
"Disjointed" is the word I've been looking for! It's so true! Also, am I crazy, or did they present her dad getting out surgery as if something catastrophic had happened, and then it just turned out he was in the recovery room and it was completely unnecessary to get her upset? (I mean, other than as a means to get to the "I can't do this again!" scene?)
@@heathertimothy5571 yeah seemed like emotional bait and switch, they implied dad was about to die or something, but then nope, surgery went well, he was perfectly fine
I loved it. It’s weird because with movies where we’re not in lockstep, I don’t really disagree with your points. They just don’t seem bother me to the same extent. I do wonder how kids will receive the film. I think adults will generally like it.
I ended up really liking this movie. I get if you want to pick it apart you have every right to but if you are going to just enjoy a light hearted movie with some emotional feels you'll have a good time with If.
This is the second movie of this title, technically Lindsay Anderson’s is called *if…* which made Malcolm McDowell a star, back when (1968) the weird idea of schoolboys machine gunning their teachers was just a fun fantasy. Not a remake I guess 🤦🏻♀️
Based on their previous projects I don't think Krasinski and Reynolds are filmmakers capable of something as emotionally profound with an ambitious complex mix of themes. It seems like a concept better suited for Spike Jones, Taika Waititi, or even Guillermo del Toro (but with GdT the monster will be monstrous).
If’ is clearly borrowing a lot from cartoon network classic fosters home for imaginary friends! That has same concept and even has main imaginary friend called ‘blue’. This is shameless movie
The whole time the movie was going I could hear Furiosa next door, made me dream of being next door, otherwise, Dans right they needed to pick a lane and reuniting IFs with their adults should have been the whole movie from 20 mins in.
Sounds like this movie should have been a show/series on a streaming service. That way, John Karsinski would have more time to develop the story and characters.
I just seen it yesterday and the kids that sat next to me around 5-7 kept saying I don't understand. At the end me and my husband said I don't understand lol 😂. Like there was emotional parts but felt like something major was changed and never fixed
Did you go to a special needs theater? You don't understand means you are either mentally challenged or didn't pay attention, maybe both. It's a simple movie to follow, if this is a challenge I'd recommend sticking to Blues Clues or The Magic School Bus.
I see people complaining about it being "stolen" from an animated show from the early 2000s, but I thought about a Jimmy Stewart movie from 1950. It's ok to have similar ideas, people.
The way I see it, Raynolds character is an IF for a girl because he is similar looking to her real father (Krasinski) and she needed that father figure while her real dad was waiting for the surgery. Remember how she kept going between "I am grown up" and "I am still a child". I felt like this movie was a ripoff childish version from J.A. Bayona movie "A monster comes to visit me", but in that movie leads mother has cancer, so it kinda lasts months. In IF, it would make sense that her dad had it, and it would take time to see if he will recover or not and thats why Bee needs all these IFs. But here it just doesnt make sense why he would be in a hospital entire week prior to surgery and then at the end he is fine just after the surgery.
9:20 (THE SPOILER STUFF) i kind of had a feeling Ryan Reynolds might've been an imaginary friend. Mostly from the trailers with him being in that whole Immaginary Friend house. seems like it could still be an ok movie. I don't know. I'm teetering between waiting to see where this shows up on streaming and maybe seeing it.
Thanks for the review, but I think you need to watch it as a parent with your kids at about that age. The whole notion of an IF showing up when you need it, to help get you through something is played through the whole film, and done extremely well. My 8 year old thought it was great, but we could also relate to much of the film... silly dad, medical issues, telling stories. For us it's the best movie of the year thus far.
@DanMurrellMovies didn't mean to imply you specifically, just meant the best target audience might be parents with their kids. Again, appreciate your review/perspective and the respectful reply!
Finally! A review about this movie I agree with. Also... The movie spends way too much time over *Blue,* that is really not that important for the story or for the main character. I also find him really annoying, just for the sake of being annoying. I'm talking about Valentino's (Wish) level, but instead of a deep voice, they gave Steve Carell a kick in the balls, before to record his every line.
Thanks for the review Dan. I saw it last Saturday and was sadly underwhelmed. Fleming shined but IF was an unfortunate misfire that whilst a sweet natured well meaning venture by Krasinski, struggled in its execution. The movie was so busy telling the audience about fun it forgot to have fun itself. I think it feel between the crack of not having enough to entertain younger kids whilst at the same time not having enough for the adults. I found it to be largely rudderless for a fair proportion, it was plagued by pacing issues, gags that don't quite land and a relatively flat Reynolds. On paper this could have been something special...IF only.
Mixed feelings on this one. I was worried about the father the whole time and some of the messaging was platitudes. At the same time, there were some touching moments throughout.
Im glad to see that im not the only one who felt like this kinda ripped off fosters home for imaginary friend, alot of other comenters thought this too!
Name one original movie...let's go with the year 2000 til now, I'll give you a second, actually, I'll give you til next year, know what take your time.
Please tell me: Did anyone of you actually have an Imaginary Friend? I feel like it's an American thing. I never met anyone in Germany with an IF. But maybe it's just an American movie thing. Never saw it anywhere else.
I had one imagery friend moment but it was mostly to fill the boredom. I recall looking up from my car's booster seat during a long car ride and noticing telephone poles and imagining a white Pegasus flying in and out of the wires on the telephone poles and barely galloping on the wires itself. And when my parents reached out destination that's when I ceased this imagining. I think that's one aspect why this film didn't work for me. I never saw my imagery friend all the time nor did I ever talk to mine, it was a bored-while-on-road-trip experience. And when I was older maybe 10 years, my sister (same age) and I would sometimes pretend that strong Pokemon were helping us clean the pool because we hated doing that chore in the heat ... It may've boosted our mood but again it was a fleeting thing and we didn't keep engaging it, it just occurred when we thought about it randomly and it exited our minds once the chore was done. I also find it interesting that the characters in the film didn't have multiple different IF characters because looking back at my childhood I had my Pegasus and my Pokemon team as my IF. Anyway thanks for reading I probably embarrassed myself but I hope it was sorta a teachable moment. I am from America as well so it might be an USA thing lol.
Thanks for the long answer. I never had that, but I think the reason maybe is, that I always was truly scared by something potentially being there, without it actually being there. Don't know. Or maybe I just tackeled my boredom a different way.
Everyone in our theater LEFT about an hour into the film. Thats how bad it was. Not a single laugh throughout. My family and I only stayed because we had nothing better to do at that point - but we were all so incredibly frustrated and bored!!!! So many plot holes and things that the film just didn’t want to explain! We could never get emotionally connected because we never really understood wth was at stake here. By far the worst movie we’ve ever seen in theatres.
i actually quite liked this movie, i had a smile on my face i do think it's story is undercooked but it almost got me emotional at the end and i though it flew by
This movie felt like it was meant to tell different storylines. They couldn't figure out what they wanted to do with it. They should've just gone with making a fosters movie and call it a day
Turns out IF stands for “It’s Fine”
OMG that’s awesome I could have used that for my movie review blog as that was my exact rating for the film
slamdunkorjunk.blogspot.com/2024/05/if-movie-review.html
Oh my gosh this movie is amazing one of the best movies to come out in years
@@5dimensionlog U joking rite? These movie was bad and boring.
Just watched it stands for “ imaginary friend”
💯 my wife was falling asleep and my kid was in and out but I felt like a dad forcing a kid like “Hey this a family movie right “ instead of just playing a quiet place lol
This seems like a fake movie that would be in a different movie
It looks like a SNL parody sketch so badly
Definitely like the idea of Dan doing more spoiler reviews. As he said in The Marvels review he's a very story- focused guy, and he's very good at analyzing narrative beats, character arcs, setup and pay-off, etc. Definitely would be interested in seeing more of these type of reviews.
I would like to point out that this has the same basic premise of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, a cartoon whose main imaginary friend is named... Bloo.
Kinda weird.
that was a great show
Monsters Inc. is just Aaaahhh! Real Monsters!
And Doug is just Peanuts.
I swear this looks like it was written to be an adaptation of it but somehow WB didn't approve it, where Ryan Reynolds would play an adult Mac
@@siddhantbanerjee3328 that sounds like an interesting pitch start. I think there'd need to be a bit more, but I like the idea.
whoops 😅
I’ll echo the comments of I love the non-spoiler/spoiler format! Please keep doing this as I personally tend to see movies as soon as they release and love hearing spoiler thoughts asap.
Imaginary Friends movie with a protagonist named Blue??? That has nothing to do with Fosters Home? Wow.
Now that you mention it...
His kid was colorblind
@@Rainbowfriendsoffcial there is similar ideas and ripoffs
Krasinski ripped off fosters home for Imaginary friends and thought no one would notice.
Even Grimace from McDonald's
Now that you mention it...
Ran to the comments as soon as I heard Dan explain the premise 😂
Aww man that was a missed Opportunity to reference that show in the movie. The movie itself had Harvey playing a TV and I saw a Calvin and Hobbes book in the scenery as easter eggs to other IP that involve Imaginary Friends.
Really? How's the main IF called...?
OH, MY GOODNES!!!!!! HIS NAME IS BLUE!!!
I kept thinking about how Where the Wild Things Are while watching IF. To me that handled the concepts of imaginary friends and childhood anguish so much more authentically, and despite being more abstract was actually a lot easier to follow. Very underrated movie.
We went last night with our six kids, age 8-18. Most of the emotion was lost on the 8yo, the next oldest kept trying to predict things (and she was pretty close), and all the other kids took what resonated with them and mostly ignored the rest. My wife cried. I laughed and got musty eyed. The way I see it, Bo’s mom and dad brought wonder into her life, and that’s what brought in Cal when she was little. Her mom died when she was young, so she had to grow up fast. Cal came back in as a stand in for her father ti tell her it’s okay to be a kid. And it was evident early in the the sequences with her mom, that she had a a gray imagination and was good at crafting things. Her transforming the retirement home into a more fun, wonder-filled place was her tapping into that again and showing us she may be able to do the same for others. Her dad kept trying to remind her to be a kid each time she’d visit him in the hospital, so Cal was there as a stand in for him. I see her as like the “most powerful imagination user,” so that’s why she was tapped to help the other IFs reunite with their former kids. So yes, you have three movies, BUT it’s like a trilogy in one film. I liked it a lot.
There's a solid cartoon that aired in the mid 2000s, Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends, that I'd recommend children watch over this. Still really holds up with good laughs, characters, and basically the same message but given more time to build up and pay off. One of the last great cartoons Cartoon Network produced.
I enjoyed watching this one, and wasn't the main imaginary friend there also called Blue?
@@benzaiten933 Same pronunciation, but it was Bloo.
@@Bad_Wolf_Media I never picked up on that, but then English isn't my mother tongue. still, the similarities are definitely there.
Explain to me why they can't watch both? And if you say because of time, they are KIDS - That is the time if their life when it's easily done.
IF gets a score of IF. What perfect symmetry.
We have "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends" at home
I don't understand the point of hiring big name celebrities to do voices in kids animated movies. The kids won't know who these people are. Do adults really care if they recognize someone's voice? And hasn't it been shown that outside of maybe Tom Cruise, celebrity names don't really pull in people to theater anymore?
Why not hire professional voice actors?
Uh maybe because the actors thought that this was a good idea and wanted to be a part of it regardless of how big or small their role was.
Robin Williams as Genie. That is what got it rolling.
@@Sherlock277 they wanted an easy payday
I think it's more why pay that much money for them when they may have only 3 or 4 lines at best? I felt the same way with much of "TMNT: Mutant Mayhem", like half of their starry names on the poster only have possible 3 or 4 minutes of dialogue in the entire film if they are lucky. They are just really needy to feel having big names for the poster means more than anything rather than the brand.
My sense of things is that it's for the adults. It's to give your brain that little kick when you say, "Hey, I recognize that voice!", and then you picture the person in your head doing the voice, and it makes it a little funnier. I think that's why Robin Williams' genie worked so well. :)
Oh this movie was real?
I thought it was a joke like Ryan Reynold's commericals or John Krasinski's news show
That's a shame. Krasinski and Reynolds involved in the same movie, I would expect a better movie than just "meh".
Ryan has the charisma of a table leg.
@@suave-rider Strongly disagree. Opinions will differ, though.
@@suave-rider There is a .01% of people who agree with your opinion, I actually believe once you read this it'll be lowered because Deadpool and Wolverine is right around the corner. BUT you can hold on to that envy and see where it gets you in life.
I love the idea of having a spoiler section! I always watch reviews after I see the movie so it’s nice to hear your more specific thoughts about it
Also, a lot of people (Not me I actually take a few hours to watch a movie) skip movies to just watch the spoiler reviews.
Dan going into his Dad joke phase, and I'm here for it. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Going into? I think he’s been here for years.
Without paying the admission fee for 'the dad jokes club' ? Am I right ?
If I had a nickel for every imaginary friend movie in 2024, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird it happened twice.
It’s such an odd thing, but not unique. Dante’s Peak came out about the same time as Volcano, and Armageddon was pretty much concurrent with Deep Impact. I’m sure there are tonnes of other examples,but those are the two famous ones I remember.
White House Down and Olympus has fallen. The Prestige and The Illusionist
A Bug's Life and Ants
Don't forget Immaculate & The First Omen. Very similar movies
@@paullangland6877 how is a bug’s life and Ants an imaginary friend movie? Seemed like just a normal cartoon movie
Ryan Reynolds even makes movies to promote his phone company now?
Best take yet!!! Cause the movie wasn't better than his commercials!!😂😂
Who else is just hanging for Dan’s Mad Max Review?
Next week, once early previews start.
@@DanMurrellMovies obviously looking forward to IT! ❤️
Mom, can we have Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends?
No, we have Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends at home.
Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends at home:
And then the next movie in the series of If, then “But” will be “If/Then”, and it’ll be all about writing acceptance criteria for software development project tasks
Don't forget the crossover with the SAW franchise, called "either/or"
If/Then is already a musical that opened on Broadway in 2014 and starred Idina Menzel.
So it's a movie about how it's okay for a preteen to go off with a late 40's guy to go looking for imaginary friends? I guess this is why it received five stars from "Child Pageant Fan Monthly".
Thought my daughter and I were the only ones that felt that way!!!
Apparently pointing that out makes people mad lol I think it is WEIRD
@@valeriereneeharper Same!!
I just saw If tonight with my kids. Your review is so spot on. You are almost verbatim describing my inner dialogue as I was watching the film. Great job.
It feels like the collaborative process of creative oversight in film making is like editing in publishing. Something that can polish and enhance the final product. Constraints feed creativity, something that we see time and again - there’s nothing like a deadline to break down writing blocks (says the person who wrote a well-received eulogy a couple of days ago, about two hours before the funeral).
So it would be nice if the importance of constraints and boundaries, like budget or studio approval, were more widely recognised in the industry.
I just got out of IF and I’m glad to know my opinions are reassured now after seeing your review. I was just left confused cause in the areas where there should be exposition, there’s barely any. I really wanna know what was left on the cutting room floor
The girl, the grandma and Ryan are unlikeable here which prevents any emotional connection. In fact all the characters got on my nerves.
@@suave-rider it’s not that they’re unlikeable, but a feeling on indifference on them. Not enough story given to like them or not. Just face value of characters and the story is banking on that you’ll read into them enough that you’ll eventually feel something for them, but fails to happen.
@@antwainskithank you. I couldn't put my finger on why I wasn't really liking anything that much.
Saw the movie today. I liked it. It had a dark tone to it. I feel like the director is trying to make us think deeper about our inner self when watching this movie.
Took my family to see it, and we all enjoyed it. Anything that can hold the attention of a 7 and 4 year old is worth the money.
Really curious to see how this movie is going to perform. I struggle to remember a movie where I've been bombarded with promotional material like this for months and months, despite being the opposite of the target audience. So I guess the studio has high hopes for the film, despite it now being a bit mid apparently.
Ackwafina, again. Third movie this year she’s had a prominent voice role. Please make it stop
Can they find someone who doesn't have chainsmoker voice
She doesn’t bother me so much. I’m not sick of her schtick yet. But I do understand others that may be sick of her. LOL
I personally loved it. One of the best I’ve seen in a little while
The way this movie is shot is weird to me. I saw someone say it looks like a fake movie inside a real movie and I agree.
Can we all agree that this was a better imaginary friend movie than “Imaginary”?
Well if anyone actually watched either of these movies then maybe. Doubt that will happen.
Yes this was far more sentimental and had depth
Was it better than Imaginary? Yes. But they were both terrible.
I mean, "Imaginary" was made by the guy who directed Fantasy Island and Truth Or Dare, couldn't have been worse 😂
Thank you Dan for this review! It helped me decide whether to see it or not. Also, I like the new format of the full review with no spoilers and then spoilers at the end.
Just want to say I love the idea of doing a non spoiler and spoiler review all in one. I often watch the movie on Thursday or Friday and end up watching your review after I've already seen the movie. So this will be a great way for me to also hear your complete thoughts on the full movie. ❤️
Really love this format Dan, non-spoiler and spoiler, as always thank you for the content.
My 12 year old pointed out to me that she thought it was creepy that a grown man was sneaking into a little girls bedroom and hiding under her bed then having a bunch of kids pictures on his desk. Then she didn't understand why a little kid would go with a strange man on a bus to a abandoned park.🤔
In a cartoon world,we want to believe in the innocence and goodness of humanity (per say)..but there will always be those who instead of enjoying the beautiful hues of a sunset,recognize all the evil lurking just behind our shoulders. Yes,thank you for reminding us that evil is all around so - everywhere!! And I imagine you would want to ban books because as we know there are families shown to be hugging too closely.
Maybe you haven't seen it yet
@@JohnMcmillin-br8tk You know that it was a 12 year old that “recognized the evil” right? You’re attacking someone’s 12 year old lol
@@valeriereneeharper Yeah,like the 12 year old wrote this. Yet you perhaps don't understand the gist of my comment - it is the parents who create a world of fear and distrust. Oh don't bother,I know you will say the fear is real - and so it is. But it doesn't absolve you from creating the world from which the child has to navigate. And we are the ones who drown them in a digital world full of evil and pornography,violence and anxiety. But you're the smart one with your collective sheep mentality to merely agree with the herd -lol..but refuse to understand that your righteousness is fear mongering at its worse. You offer nothing but ignorance.
@@valeriereneeharper It is the loss of innocence that I bemoan. Yet your righteousness- your sheep mentality to agree with the herd - offers nothing but indignation. Yes,a child needs to be aware of the evil lurking - everyone is suspect. Everyone. And people wonder why our children are maturing into sheltered weak vessels of anxiety and depression. They grow up fearing the evil machinations all around them because why? Because it is the world we've given them..a world of evil at their fingertips- violence, pornography, hopelessness. So laugh all you want Valerie,and offer nothing except your compliance to the herd.
I haven't seen the movie, but most of the problems that it seems to have are exactly what a good editor is there to solve. They are the unsung heroes of every good movie ever made. They are the movie storytellers. It's the reason so many famous directors find and then stick to a certain editor for all or most of their movies.
totally agree with you on all your points!! The movie seems to try way too hard to extract emotion from you but the story just didn't flow naturally. You know there is a problem when the movie has problems explaining the concept of the IF placement. What if they're not placed, what if they don't want to leave their kid, etc. Would have been more interesting just exploring the IF premise than this mishmash. Also, why make the father's sickness so mysterious? So many things done with no payoff, leaving the audience (at least me) unsatisfied
I had a whole section on that in my spoiler comments that I flat-out just forgot to record!
SPOILERS
The dad's illness was so weird because he didn't really seem like he needed to be in the hospital for that long to begin with. Then they had to rush there, making it sound like he was seconds away from dying, but when they got there he looked like he was just resting comfortably and the nurses said "he just needs to rest." So why the urgency? Also, I THINK he had heart surgery, but then Bea throws herself on his chest after her big monologue. If that was heart surgery, I'm not sure that's the most helpful sign of affection!
@@DanMurrellMovies also the dad seemed constantly in a fugue, playing weird pranks and making jokes worst than Dad jokes. That line about him being broken, not sick just sounded so ominous. Then he got better just in time for the ending. Really felt like several rewrites happened and that entire plot got axed. Just so many unnecessary scenes.
It started out pretty economically, with scenes of the mother in bald hat and Bea looking through photos, reminding me of Up. Then it took a left turn and never went back. Felt it probably would have been better if it was less ambitious and focused on just telling one story well rather than maybe half a dozen poorly
When every character is grating and unlikeable, you have a problem connecing with the audience. I hated the entire movie especially that kid in the hospital.
Will be interesting to see how this does at the box office. We have not had a lot of big live action family movies like this for a while (that are not remakes like Aladian or IP franchise movies like Sonic etc).
I wonder if familes will show up, or like a lot of movies recently , hold out for some more familar like Garfield , Despicable me 4 etc for wait for IF to hit streaming
that would be interesting to see metric wise and just feedback culturally and stuff to see if there was a decent amount of people that go see this.
@@TwinRiver100 Also, with the price for familes to go to the theatres being so high, I wonder if some will not take the risk to see pay to see this movie, in case the childen get bored + want to leave, and again wait for a safer bet like Despicable me, Sonic etc that they know their children already like.
I liked this format! There’s some movies that I already know I don’t really care to watch, and I want to support you and watch all your videos, but I’d rather have the no spoiler and spoiler reviews combined in one video.
I mostly agree with your review but the emotion really landed for me so I loved it. I thought the score was incredibly charming as well. I’m recommending my friends with kids to go see it
I just keps thinking, why is a 12 year old walking around alone in NYC, or taking a bus or going out at night🤦♀️
I feel like that one promotional spot where Randall Park plays John Krasinski is the only thing that makes this movie worthwhile
I'm not gonna see it, but i'm at least amused by the brad pitt story - I can get behind that invisible brad recurring role lol.
One day we're going to find out that Brad Pitt has been invisible in every film in the past few decades. Only some of them can we see him or mention him.
lol. Your review here was virtually Word for Word. My thoughts on it as well. Decent movie, but could have been great with more direction and a tighter story. I thought SteveCarell, who I normally love struggle here “trying“ to deliver something magical.
If is a great movie is about imagery friends and how incorpating those childhood imagination to adult life to inspire us to create and hope for a better future. Each human creates an avatar for each experience and the one that is used the most is the one that bring the dopamine and the avatar that does gets discarded. By incorporating each of ourselfs into a whole being.
Sometimes I think your intros are too clever for your own good hahaha
Just tell me if its a secret Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends tie in. If not it will lower the score for “spitting in the face of my childhood and all I hold dear”
I'm all for reviews that split themselves into Non-Spoiler and Spoiler after the movie or show has been released. Something like IF where I don't care about spoilers, it is nice to have your full thoughts. For shows like Fallout, I watched the non-spoiler part of your review, then came back for the spoiler portion when I finished the show.
Dan, love your spoiler talks. Keep them coming after the movies are out.
If Quiet Place was not done, I would say this is an okay directorial debut. But after 2 Quiet Place movies, this could and should be a lot better.
As an adult, it is a Sixth Sense movie, and the hint was not every subtle.
I think John Krasinski wants to do a movie for the whole family, but I agree with you, it is too slow for kids and not enough stuff for adults.
I went with my family (2 kids, parents, grand parent, and great aunt). Kids both really enjoyed it (though one was too young to understand the opening fully, but knew what the later scene with the dad meant). Biggest complaint would be the ads/trailers did not really convey the movie at all - it was more mature than expected, more serious, and less goofy fun. Think the whole group liked it though, overall
I agree. Who was the intended audience? Based on trailers, I assumed it was children. I expected it to be about Blue and rehoming his (imaginary) friends. (No trailer gave me the vibe it was about reuniting with their child, now adult.) The family drama stuff was unexpected and felt like a bait & switch. I could have done without that. Honestly, I thought it was going to have the same vibe as "Sing." At the end though, it felt more like "Homeward Bound," a movie that seems for children but punches you in the gut.
In the movie, on the Grandma's TV, she's watching "Harvey," I think, so the movie definitely had lofty goals.
I figured out pretty early on what the twist was.
I think there was something wrong with the projector when I saw this. The film was zoomed in too much and we couldn't see the names of half the filmmakers in the opening credits.
Thanks for the review, I do wanna see this film, but I’ll wait for IF to stream
It's three months after this review and the movie tanked at the box office. I just saw "IF" on Parmount+, followed by the spoiler part of this review. Wow, was this review spot-on. I can see the three separate movies partially crammed together. There were a lot of things that I found interesting in this movie, but they just didn't connect well. Blue was annoying. The IFs themselves are visually wonderful. The parts where they had physical interactions with items in the real world bothered me because doors mysteriously opening and laundry moving about should have seemed odd to everyone. The 12-year-old Bea's disappearing into NYC for entire days with seemingly little concern from her Grandmother were worrying.... and Bea's ability to buy infinite bouquets of flowers and food seemed odd. The music sometimes blared so loudly that I had to reduce volume to avoid bothering people in adjoining rooms, but it definitely let me know how I should be feeling.
I just went to see it. It was worth watching once. I can't imagine watching it over and over. I really would have loved more of a story focusing on the IFs. There were some pretty fun ones. I loved the old bear and the spy the most. I honestly feel they should have left the whole health issues with dad story line as that slowed it down and moved everything away from the Ifs.
Love the non-spoiler/spoiler format Dan!👍🏻
rehoming imaginary friends and a main imaginary friend Blue... i think the makers of Fosters home of imaginary friends has a case j/k; but gotta say this puts me in the mood to try and rewatch Fosters
So this is basically Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends?
I genuinely liked “IF”, it reminded me a lot of “My Neighbor Totoro” where it is about an imaginary friend and a girl dealing with the trauma of loss of family. I think the strange pacing is intentional, as it feels like Miyazaki’s other more recent movie “Boy and the Heron” where it’s hard to tell what is real and what was maybe in her imagination. It all feels very dream like in it’s pacing. Not saying this is as good as Miyazaki film, but I feel like Krasinski took inspiration from those films and tried to translate them to an American audience.
It did bring up some strong emotions at a few points, and seeing the IFs was kind of fun, but the plot was so disjointed, I felt like I was watching some selected clips from a TV series rather than an actual movie.
Like the whole subplot about the father's surgery turns out to be inconsequential, they could have cut Krasinski's character entirely and just had Bea living with her grandma after losing her parents, and it would have been basically the same movie.
The whole sequence in the IF retirement home was entertaining, but it didn't do anything to advance the plot. I would have liked to see a lot more IF-kid reunions, I kept waiting for Bea to get into the swing of things and reunite every IF in the home with their kid, so it was pretty underwhelming that we just got 2.
"Disjointed" is the word I've been looking for! It's so true!
Also, am I crazy, or did they present her dad getting out surgery as if something catastrophic had happened, and then it just turned out he was in the recovery room and it was completely unnecessary to get her upset? (I mean, other than as a means to get to the "I can't do this again!" scene?)
@@heathertimothy5571 yeah seemed like emotional bait and switch, they implied dad was about to die or something, but then nope, surgery went well, he was perfectly fine
I loved it. It’s weird because with movies where we’re not in lockstep, I don’t really disagree with your points. They just don’t seem bother me to the same extent. I do wonder how kids will receive the film. I think adults will generally like it.
I ended up really liking this movie. I get if you want to pick it apart you have every right to but if you are going to just enjoy a light hearted movie with some emotional feels you'll have a good time with If.
This is the second movie of this title, technically Lindsay Anderson’s is called *if…*
which made Malcolm McDowell a star, back when (1968) the weird idea of schoolboys machine gunning their teachers was just a fun fantasy. Not a remake I guess 🤦🏻♀️
Based on their previous projects I don't think Krasinski and Reynolds are filmmakers capable of something as emotionally profound with an ambitious complex mix of themes. It seems like a concept better suited for Spike Jones, Taika Waititi, or even Guillermo del Toro (but with GdT the monster will be monstrous).
I saw it tonight and it was a little strange. It felt like the editing was unfinished, and there were tons of fade to black transitions.
This would have worked as an after school special. Ryan made it feel like a long Mint Mobile commercial.
Woah, the premise is totally like this one good cartoon show i watched as a kid but just focusing on the imagery friends...
The trailer for Wicked just came up. That looks good! Is the new movie based on the book/play?
It’s a two part adaptation of the musical
Everybody knows the sequel to "If" would be "Then", and followed by "Else". "But" would be the 4th installment in the saga.
Great video Dan!
If’ is clearly borrowing a lot from cartoon network classic fosters home for imaginary friends! That has same concept and even has main imaginary friend called ‘blue’. This is shameless movie
1:40
So, this is just Foster's? Interesting.
The whole time the movie was going I could hear Furiosa next door, made me dream of being next door, otherwise, Dans right they needed to pick a lane and reuniting IFs with their adults should have been the whole movie from 20 mins in.
I figured it out pretty much when they showed the book mark
Sounds like this movie should have been a show/series on a streaming service. That way, John Karsinski would have more time to develop the story and characters.
I just seen it yesterday and the kids that sat next to me around 5-7 kept saying I don't understand. At the end me and my husband said I don't understand lol 😂. Like there was emotional parts but felt like something major was changed and never fixed
Did you go to a special needs theater? You don't understand means you are either mentally challenged or didn't pay attention, maybe both. It's a simple movie to follow, if this is a challenge I'd recommend sticking to Blues Clues or The Magic School Bus.
Good conjunction joke, Dan. You got me. 😅
I see people complaining about it being "stolen" from an animated show from the early 2000s, but I thought about a Jimmy Stewart movie from 1950. It's ok to have similar ideas, people.
I can’t believe they even named the main imaginary friend Blue. I think this one is B L U E though.
They explained it in the movie. Cal is color blind so he doesn’t know Blue is purple.
@@vivaciousom5347Jeremy was colorblind
@@Rainbowfriendsoffcial Thanks. You are right.
I can always tell what your review is going to be by your face on the thumbnail. Makes me chuckle.
Many channels do that
@@alexp601 lots of channels have faces that seem like they were taken from adult websites.
@@Freakazoid12345 that’s true for first-time reaction videos, but reviews are a bit more simple. An upset face, a smile, looking confused etc.
The way I see it, Raynolds character is an IF for a girl because he is similar looking to her real father (Krasinski) and she needed that father figure while her real dad was waiting for the surgery. Remember how she kept going between "I am grown up" and "I am still a child".
I felt like this movie was a ripoff childish version from J.A. Bayona movie "A monster comes to visit me", but in that movie leads mother has cancer, so it kinda lasts months. In IF, it would make sense that her dad had it, and it would take time to see if he will recover or not and thats why Bee needs all these IFs. But here it just doesnt make sense why he would be in a hospital entire week prior to surgery and then at the end he is fine just after the surgery.
Rarely agree with Dan's criticisms as I am an easy mark. However I'm checking which studio put this out and if I'm subscribed to them
Finally Dan I am always waiting for your reviews
9:20 (THE SPOILER STUFF)
i kind of had a feeling Ryan Reynolds might've been an imaginary friend. Mostly from the trailers with him being in that whole Immaginary Friend house.
seems like it could still be an ok movie. I don't know.
I'm teetering between waiting to see where this shows up on streaming and maybe seeing it.
I enjoyed this movie, but I get where some people aren't liking it. I fought back tears at several moments, loved it
Bummer..was
Looking forward to this one
Thanks for the review, but I think you need to watch it as a parent with your kids at about that age.
The whole notion of an IF showing up when you need it, to help get you through something is played through the whole film, and done extremely well.
My 8 year old thought it was great, but we could also relate to much of the film... silly dad, medical issues, telling stories. For us it's the best movie of the year thus far.
Everyone watches movies through their own eyes. I can only watch it through my own, but I'm glad you and your child enjoyed it.
@DanMurrellMovies didn't mean to imply you specifically, just meant the best target audience might be parents with their kids.
Again, appreciate your review/perspective and the respectful reply!
Finally! A review about this movie I agree with.
Also...
The movie spends way too much time over *Blue,* that is really not that important for the story or for the main character.
I also find him really annoying, just for the sake of being annoying.
I'm talking about Valentino's (Wish) level, but instead of a deep voice, they gave Steve Carell a kick in the balls, before to record his every line.
Thanks for the review Dan. I saw it last Saturday and was sadly underwhelmed. Fleming shined but IF was an unfortunate misfire that whilst a sweet natured well meaning venture by Krasinski, struggled in its execution. The movie was so busy telling the audience about fun it forgot to have fun itself. I think it feel between the crack of not having enough to entertain younger kids whilst at the same time not having enough for the adults. I found it to be largely rudderless for a fair proportion, it was plagued by pacing issues, gags that don't quite land and a relatively flat Reynolds. On paper this could have been something special...IF only.
Mixed feelings on this one. I was worried about the father the whole time and some of the messaging was platitudes. At the same time, there were some touching moments throughout.
Im glad to see that im not the only one who felt like this kinda ripped off fosters home for imaginary friend, alot of other comenters thought this too!
Name one original movie...let's go with the year 2000 til now, I'll give you a second, actually, I'll give you til next year, know what take your time.
Hey I liked IF, but the way the movie was presented made it seem more than a little inspired.
😂😂😂 loved the opening bit
it's like a live action Pixar movie with a good cast
Please tell me:
Did anyone of you actually have an Imaginary Friend?
I feel like it's an American thing. I never met anyone in Germany with an IF.
But maybe it's just an American movie thing. Never saw it anywhere else.
I had one imagery friend moment but it was mostly to fill the boredom.
I recall looking up from my car's booster seat during a long car ride and noticing telephone poles and imagining a white Pegasus flying in and out of the wires on the telephone poles and barely galloping on the wires itself. And when my parents reached out destination that's when I ceased this imagining.
I think that's one aspect why this film didn't work for me. I never saw my imagery friend all the time nor did I ever talk to mine, it was a bored-while-on-road-trip experience. And when I was older maybe 10 years, my sister (same age) and I would sometimes pretend that strong Pokemon were helping us clean the pool because we hated doing that chore in the heat ... It may've boosted our mood but again it was a fleeting thing and we didn't keep engaging it, it just occurred when we thought about it randomly and it exited our minds once the chore was done.
I also find it interesting that the characters in the film didn't have multiple different IF characters because looking back at my childhood I had my Pegasus and my Pokemon team as my IF. Anyway thanks for reading I probably embarrassed myself but I hope it was sorta a teachable moment. I am from America as well so it might be an USA thing lol.
Thanks for the long answer.
I never had that, but I think the reason maybe is, that I always was truly scared by something potentially being there, without it actually being there.
Don't know.
Or maybe I just tackeled my boredom a different way.
Everyone in our theater LEFT about an hour into the film. Thats how bad it was. Not a single laugh throughout. My family and I only stayed because we had nothing better to do at that point - but we were all so incredibly frustrated and bored!!!! So many plot holes and things that the film just didn’t want to explain! We could never get emotionally connected because we never really understood wth was at stake here. By far the worst movie we’ve ever seen in theatres.
i actually quite liked this movie, i had a smile on my face i do think it's story is undercooked but it almost got me emotional at the end and i though it flew by
I will agree with you, that the musical score left a lot to be desired. Not one of Michael Giacchino's finest works by a long shot.
This movie felt like it was meant to tell different storylines. They couldn't figure out what they wanted to do with it. They should've just gone with making a fosters movie and call it a day