A Wrinkle In Time — 2.5 Gavels 42% Rotten Tomatoes 34% Audience

Confession:  Prior to seeing this movie, I was unfamiliar with the book.  I read a couple of user comments; it seemed like they either loved it or hated it.  Initial impression:  The first two bookings on Sunday were nearly full.  Even given the early negative reviews and comments, people trust Disney.  At a cost of $100 million, it appears to be on track to make nearly $35 million this weekend.  Digression:  The popcorn at Regal was much better than usual today.  I hope that is a good sign for the future.  Recommendation:  One’s imagination never carries over well in the movies.  For a children’s book, the movie was difficult to follow.  As they were viewing the universe for the first time, the young actors were to have a look of amazement on their faces.  That look is tough to pull off for long periods of time.  My hunch is that you should stick with the book, at least until it arrives on the small screen.

Dr. Alex Murry has been missing for four years.  His daughter, Meg, has become problematic at school, despite her brilliant potential.  His son, Charles Wallace, brilliant in his own way, issues a “call” to the Mrs., i.e., Mrs. Which, Mrs, Whatsit, and Mrs. Who, to show Meg the way to find her father by using the tesseract.   Transporting Meg, Charles Wallace, and a friend, Calvin, through the universe, they must learn to trust each other to conquer the IT, a powerful dark force.  In the end, Meg discovers love is able to bring light to the darkness.

Meg is played by Storm Reid, a great name for an actor, and one with a lot of potential.  It will be interesting to follow her in the future.  Deric McCabe is Charles Wallace, a Young Sheldon kind of character without all the obsessive behavior.  Both these young actors need better material than this movie provided them.  Oprah Winfrey as Mrs. Which appeared stilted and with so much makeup that it was distracting.  Reese Witherspoon as Mrs. Whatsit was annoying.  Mindy Kaling as Mrs. Who was stiff.  Overall, these three talented ladies did not bring much to this film.  Was it the story, or the director?  Chris Pine as Dr. Alex Murry appeared lost, perhaps appropriately for the film.  Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Dr. Kate Murry was the best of the lot as Meg and Charles’ mother.  Perhaps that was because she did not have to be awed by the universe.

Apparently, Disney made this book as a movie in 2003.  I didn’t see that version, but it also received negative reviews.  So why try again?  If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again.  Does that mean we will see yet another version in 2033?  While this one might break even, it certainly doesn’t appear to have the staying power of a Beauty and the Beast, even though it had a built-in audience.  It is hard to imagine that folks will sit through this movie over and over again.  While there are lots of special effects, except for the flowers, none seemed that impressive.  Overall, you just don’t get the feeling of a $100 million movie.  It is said that some books just can’t be made into a movie.  I generally do not believe that.  It just takes some imagination.  Sadly, it was lacking here.