Good News, Critics Loves The BFG In Cannes
The most important news you'll read all day.
When I put The BFG right towards the top of the list of the Summer's Most Anticipated movies, I was lambasted by angry comments saying it wasn't worthy of its billing. Well, I would like to tell that lone gunman that he really ought to modulate his expectations and come back when the film hits cinemas.
Currently proving exactly why the film deserves to be heralded with such excitement are the critics in Cannes who've now seen the film and are heaping praise on it.
Robbie Colin of the Telegraph made the biggest statement:
That's a hell of a parallel, and one that just makes me more excited.
Meanwhile Jason Solomons was similarly happy to praise:
It seems wonderment and imagination and heart are in big supply, as Total Film said in their review:
And Variety likened it to a great former Spielberg release:
Sadly, not everyone has been exactly bowled over, with some critics seemingly wanting something more substantial:
Strictly speaking, those aren't fatal reviews by any means. The BFG is a kids book, so suggesting it's a kids movie isn't a massive leap: and since when was Spielberg making a kids movie a problem? And bear in mind, Benjamin Lee at The Guardian still gave the film 4 stars out of 5, so it's not like he didn't really like it.
And the story is somewhat slow: it's more like a wondrous stroll through a beautiful park - Dahl purposefully injected his story with that sense of wonderment, because it reflects what Sophie experiences. It was never going to be the Fast & Furious.
But it is a little disheartening to hear that people didn't universally love it. Personally, I have this pegged as this year's Paddington. Hopefully, it's just the Cannes environment, with its morale sapping queues and endless jostling and herding that has made some of these reviews a little sour.
It has to be that, right? Because this just looks beautiful...