FilmSnobReviews

Title: Slumberland
MPAA Rating: PG
Director: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Jason Momoa, Marlow Barkley, Chris O’Dowd
Runtime: 1 hr 57 mins

What It Is: Nemo (Barkley) is a young girl who lives in a lighthouse with her father (Kyle Chandler) who keeps the lighthouse. When her father passes away she’s left with her doorknob salesman uncle Philip (O’Dowd) who has no idea the world that exists when Nemo goes off into slumberland. An avatar named Flip (Mamoa) is stuck in this land and doesn’t know how he did it. Now the two friends will traverse this land and figure out how to acquire a pearl that grants a wish.

What We Think: The movie struggles through too much CGI. You’re swimming in manufactured images that flash like cinematic candy in front of your face. None of it hitting you in a way that comes off prevalent or meaningful. Jason Momoa feels like he’s having a good time but we as the audience sort of just get this big doofus to deal with. Marlow Barkley gives a good sometimes fine performance but much of this comes off a bit too manipulative emotionally. This lack of true stakes mixed with a script that sticks to the easy roads sort of buries this in the sand before the man comes to put us to sleep.

Our Grade: D+, I would skip this. Even for your kids the subject matter is too heavy for the younger ones and the script too cartoony and easy for slightly older ones. There was a lot of places this could’ve gone. Those places could’ve seen this become a modern Wizard of Oz. Instead it felt more like the lackluster returns we got to the Emerald City. Skip this. It shouldn’t be two hours long. It shouldn’t look like this much of a video game. A really terrible movie going experience.