A Wrinkle In Time Review: 3 Ups & 6 Downs

5. A Talented Ensemble Cast Is Mostly Wasted

Say what you want about the movie, but it sure does boast a top-drawer cast. It's just a shame most of them are wasted in nothing roles, though.

Where to begin? Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling and Oprah are well-cast as the metaphysical entities who help Meg (Storm Reid) on her quest to track down her father, but in addition to being given little to do beyond mince around in ridiculous outfits, their screen time is curiously curtailed. They disappear shortly after the first act and don't reappear for close to an hour.

Then there's Chris Pine, a perfect fit for Meg's missing father. He's really trying his hardest here, and he gets probably the most emotional material to work with, but is also clearly struggling to elevate writing that's not fleshed-out enough.

And we shouldn't forget Gugu Mbatha-Raw - whose talents have been squandered in several consecutive recent movies - as Meg's mother, Michael Peña as the antagonist's devilish bodyguard Red, and Moonlight's fantastic André Holland, who shows up briefly in a pointless non-role as Meg's school principal.

All that talent and so little to do. At least they were hopefully well compensated for their efforts.