Slumberland Review

Given the volatile range of variety of what is or is not considered entertaining within the current entertainment industry, especially in the cinematographic area, sometimes it is nothing less than impressive and warm to find copies like the one we are reviewing today.

Netflix has been uncovered with what can be defined as a 90s entertainment movie for children.

Miscellaneous and innocent entertainment for the kids…

Slumberland is everything a Steven Spielberg children’s movie in the late ’80s and ’90s would have given us.

A story that is not very complex or difficult to understand that seeks to entertain children and adults in a world full of fantasy, special effects, and excellent photographic direction.

From the hand of director Francis Lawrence, whose vast experience ranges from the first Live Action adaptation of “Constantine” in 2005, to “The Hunger Games” movies; Slumberland brings us the story of Nemo, a dreamy 11-year-old girl who lives in a lighthouse with her father.

An entertaining classic plot that, however, could border on the predictable…

Things start to shake up as Nemo’s dreams begin to blend with the reality around her, and a series of unexpected events begins to unfold.

It all starts with a dream/premonition of his father’s passing at the beginning of the film.

The dreams evolve and progress based on this premise until they become adventures with who, until now, was his father’s “imaginary friend”, known as Finn; and brought to illustration by the always charismatic “Jason Momoa”.

The adventures, far from taking place directly in the real world, take our protagonist to imaginary places and fantastic passages where unusual things happen and they face the nightmarish entities of the place.

Excellent special effects backed by good actors and photographic direction…

A good filmmaker friend of mine once told me, in a conversation about “Zack Snyder” movies, that you can tell if a movie’s photography is any good just by taking random photocaptures of movie scenes.

The number of screenshots that are worthy of using as a wallpaper dictate the percentage of the photographic quality of it.

It is indeed the case with this film. From camera angles, to positioning, landscapes and the performance itself, everything is on point.

The special effects, while they may come across as lacking in polish in certain scenes, are generally of a high quality. Note that, today, visual transduction methods have been taken to a technological level that sometimes works against the identification of what is part of a real set and what is computer generated.

The secret of success lies in a balance between set pieces and mockups made by the production team and bringing to “CGI” only what is necessary. The film appears to strike a generous balance between the two.

Characters who give themselves to love, but are little used…

I’m not saying that the narrative of the film progressed too quickly, far from it…

Far from being a magnum opus of “Christopher Nolan”, we have always advocated seeing things for what they are.

Jason Momoa and Marlow Barkley are actors who manage to capture the audience and be magnetic in what they do. As a consequence, Finn and Nemo have a pretty nice relationship and their on-screen chemistry is excellent.

However, the film ditches Nemo’s father (played by Kyle Chandler) at a very green plot point, and it feels like the film wants to sadden the audience at a time when there’s not yet a sentimental connection to the character. .

We bring this up because the film, in less than 15 minutes, illustrates an unprecedented level of chemistry between Marlow Barkley and Kyle Chandler in their father-daughter relationship that immediately gives you an idea of ​​how close they are.

The music, however, could use some help…

Perhaps because we are used to a pompous and snooty level of scoring in modern entertainment, original background compositions that seek to enhance scenes by illustrating both the visual and the non-visual are extremely timid for the most part.

Far from being poor calls as pieces of music, I understand that the audio direction could have achieved a higher level of prominence and cohesion between what we hear and what we see.

In this case, the criticism is not directed so much at compositions and arrangements per se, as it would be directed at the level of production, mixing and audio direction.

Both things in isolation are quite competent, but it doesn’t feel like everything has its place and its due moment of prominence.

In short… A film that will be liked by adults and children…

Honestly, from a personal point of view, and at the word of a cat’s father… I don’t know if today’s children, with everything put in front of them to entertain them, like these types of movies in the same way that we children did. from the 90s.

However, Slumberland promises a good family time offering good performances, excellent visuals, endearing characters, and wholesome entertainment in general.

This review was made thanks to an early submission courtesy of Netflix.