Saturday, January 31, 2009

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Title: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Directed by: David Fincher
Starring: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Jason Flemyng, Taraji P. Henson, Julia Ormond
Genres: Drama, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy, and Adaptation
Running Time: 2 hour.47 minutes
Release Date: December 25th, 2008
MPAA Rating: PG-13

Review: It seems everybody loves this film, and when you watch it, it is not hard to understand why. I totally get why people love this film; the story is great, intriguing, and unique; it totally tugs at the heartstrings; the acting is good; and it comes with a great message. I am sure that most people who see it will enjoy it.
However, 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' has a couple of flaws that brings it down, just a tad:
  1. 'Benjamin' is a bit too slow, but not the the point of molasses. It is totally bearable.
  2. It is the 2 hrs. 47 minutes that 'Benjamin' runs that is completely unreasonable. A film this long really needs to have you on the edge of your seat, so you do not notice the film's greedy time grubbing. Sadly, that is not the case with this film; and both Hubby & I clearly noted, and were [independently] annoyed by 'Benjamin's' excessive minute-hogging.
Even though the film totally was enjoyable, the excessive length still had us squirming in our seats by the end of it, and that is just wrong. With some more editing this film could have been even better, it totally has the potential to be brilliant, but does not quite reach it. And given the director's message about time, I am somewhat surprised to see him waste it like this. 'Benjamin' still receives a great rating, and I totally recommend this film, but [for once] I would have much preferred to have seen it on my own comfy couch instead of in the theater.

Grade: 7.5

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