This movie looks stunning. There, got the great blatantly obvious part out of the way. Let's move on.
While I thought the movie was in every way good, there were a few flaws that held it back from being my fav of the year so far. Mind you, outside of these 2 flaws I'm about to get into, the movie was great. The plot, the action, the animation (I said it before but it bears repeating. Best animation of the year so far!), it was quite the enjoyable movie. But no movie is without flaws, and in this case... these flaws are noticeable.
It was PREDICTABLE. SO VERY, VERY PREDICTABLE. I heard one line of dialogue and immediately guessed the next, and was practically word for word on many occasions. There was a moment of predictable-ness that stood out for me (SPOILERS AHEAD. BEWARE).
Hanzo's death. It's revealed that the beetle guy is actually Kubo's father, cursed to be a beetle without memories for the rest of his days. Right after I saw that reveal (which was one of the moments I predicted), I knew he was gonna die at some point. SURPRISE SURPRISE, he gets killed in the next scene.
The second issue? The ending. It's just kinda thrown in for no real reason. Kubo goes to his father and mother's grave and places a lantern, then talks for a bit about how he wants them back, even for a moment, so he can give the story a happy ending. Then the camera goes black, then pans down the river, to the edge, where Kubo and his parents in spirit form are. Then the movie ends. Now riddle me this: Was that final shot really necessary? They could have ended it with Kubo turning to the lantern and seeing it glow (in the movie it's a sign the spirits are nearby), then him smiling and walking away. It would have been so much more emotional than "Oh the parents are there in spirit but this time it's literal! woohoo". No. Not woohoo. Lame.
It's a great movie. I recommend it. It's worth the price of admission. But the flaws present keep me from absolutely adoring it.
While I thought the movie was in every way good, there were a few flaws that held it back from being my fav of the year so far. Mind you, outside of these 2 flaws I'm about to get into, the movie was great. The plot, the action, the animation (I said it before but it bears repeating. Best animation of the year so far!), it was quite the enjoyable movie. But no movie is without flaws, and in this case... these flaws are noticeable.
It was PREDICTABLE. SO VERY, VERY PREDICTABLE. I heard one line of dialogue and immediately guessed the next, and was practically word for word on many occasions. There was a moment of predictable-ness that stood out for me (SPOILERS AHEAD. BEWARE).
Hanzo's death. It's revealed that the beetle guy is actually Kubo's father, cursed to be a beetle without memories for the rest of his days. Right after I saw that reveal (which was one of the moments I predicted), I knew he was gonna die at some point. SURPRISE SURPRISE, he gets killed in the next scene.
The second issue? The ending. It's just kinda thrown in for no real reason. Kubo goes to his father and mother's grave and places a lantern, then talks for a bit about how he wants them back, even for a moment, so he can give the story a happy ending. Then the camera goes black, then pans down the river, to the edge, where Kubo and his parents in spirit form are. Then the movie ends. Now riddle me this: Was that final shot really necessary? They could have ended it with Kubo turning to the lantern and seeing it glow (in the movie it's a sign the spirits are nearby), then him smiling and walking away. It would have been so much more emotional than "Oh the parents are there in spirit but this time it's literal! woohoo". No. Not woohoo. Lame.
It's a great movie. I recommend it. It's worth the price of admission. But the flaws present keep me from absolutely adoring it.