Movie Review: ‘A Wrinkle in Time’

by Hunter Johnson

Over the last several years, Disney has changed the game of filmmaking. Along with their releases of many Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars films, Disney has also been releasing a steady amount of their own films under the Walt Disney Pictures banner, like “The Jungle Book,” “Pete’s Dragon,” and “Beauty and the Beast.”

Now, Walt Disney Pictures has released their first film of 2018, “A Wrinkle in Time,” based off the 1962 novel of the same name.

“A Wrinkle in Time” is a visually dazzling film about a young girl in search of her scientist father who went missing four years earlier. The film is whirlwind of storytelling that is clearly having a hard time fitting an entire novel into a two-hour movie. But for the most part, it is an enjoyable movie with a great cast.

The film succeeds in its story of wonder and curiosity. It is beautiful to see and the director (Ava DuVernay) clearly has a vision to depict. DuVernay created a film that doesn’t reveal everything at once. The movie keeps its audience in the dark for a majority of the movie, slowly revealing story elements as it progresses.

The cast clearly has a lot of fun in this movie. Storm Reid leads the film as the main protagonist, Meg, and Levi Miller and Derek McCabe star alongside as her friend and brother, respectively.

Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, and Mindy Kaling star as the three celestial beings helping the children find Meg’s father, played by Chris Pine. Chris Pine steals the show in this movie proving his immense talent once again after his fantastic performances in “Wonder Woman,” “Into the Woods,” and the “Star Trek” series.

While “A Wrinkle in Time” often hits its message a little too on-the-nose, the film is quite enjoyable to watch and is filled with several very memorable visual scenes.

Much of the dialogue feels cheesy/childish, and audience members will often wonder why characters are not terrified or even confused that celestial beings exist. The kids see flying Oprah and immediately want to hug her instead of running away in terror like most people would do in a similar situation.

But the cheesy and childish nature of the film is important to the story. It is made for children but is also made for adults to tap into their childhood memories of wonder and curiosity. In a similar fashion to the original “Star Wars,” this film isn’t meant to be nitpicked for plot holes, of which there are several. Instead it is meant to turn audience members back into the little kids that they once were.

The film moves very briskly, not spending too much time on any one plot thread. The fast pace serves the film well—the audience has no idea what’s going to happen next (unless they’ve read the novel), and the many surprises are enjoyable.

“A Wrinkle in Time” isn’t perfect by any means, but it most definitely fulfills its goal as a movie and does exactly what it wants to do with its story. It’s made for children, but adults can easily enjoy the film as well if they get into the right mindset. However, above all else, the film is a visual masterpiece. It’s filled with mind-boggling effects and creative spectacle. Disney has created a story that doesn’t waste time with exposition and simply throws the audience right into the action of this highly ambitious feel-good fantasy film.

Hunter Johnson is a freshman theatre major and an arts and entertainment writer for Cedars. He spends his time acting on stage, reading and watching Star Wars, and occasionally doing homework.