Lord of the Beasts A picture for the whole family, capable of attracting the attention of a very different age audience and uniting the family while viewing its soulful and kind aura, is always a wonderful phenomenon. Cameron Crowe managed to shoot a bright and fascinating picture, against the background of a fun adventure that raises many problems of relationships.
The well-developed problems of children and parents, the complexity of experiences, teenage love, as well as the issue of openness to new relationships after the loss of a loved one, are presented by bright and disposed characters of the picture in the form in which you completely immerse yourself in the cares of this family and its closest entourage.
The purchased zoo acts at once as a multifaceted element, somewhere serving only as a background and occasion, somewhere as a center of generalization and sometimes even a cause for conflict. All kinds of episodes with animals help to see a vivid contrast between the characters, as well as multifacetedly emphasize the interaction of the characters with each other. Individual characters embody serious obstacles on the way to the goal, such as the brother of the protagonist or the caretaker who arrives ahead of time. Common misfortune or threat often serves as an occasion to forget previous discords and disagreements, focusing on more serious life values and on selfless pure love for your family and friends, when you love in spite of everything, both in joy and in sorrow.
Matt Damon, who saves animals from death, risks investing huge funds in a purchased zoo, sees it as something much more than a profitable venture or a way to impress and attract the heroine Johansson, reveals in all emotions as a good father and a loyal friend. Despite some verbal skirmishes, screams and quarrels, this protector of nature and the lord of animals remains a pleasant and caring man, ready for anything for the happiness of his own children. Scarlett herself adds the necessary charm to the picture, and the responsible for humor Angus McFadyen presents just an unforgettable character!
Children do not lag behind adults. Colin Ford in all tones depicts a withdrawn teenager, losing the meaning of life and the source of joy, and the heroine Ellie Fannning, actively adhering to him, tries in every possible way to kindle a spark of hope and love in the boy, bringing to life small joys like brought tasty things as a gift, and trying to somehow illuminate his gloomy inner world with his radiant charm, in which clouds thickened after the loss of his mother. The younger Maggie Jones is a cheerful joyful child who can not leave indifferent with her funny statements and sincere manifestations of joy.
Casting brilliantly copes with its task to expose the characters in the most vivid and acute way in all emerging problem and conflict situations, but their number puts the overall action in a rather protracted series of similar and template phenomena. The film, although not immediately showing all the splendor of the promised zoo and the diversity of all animals, very quickly begins and briskly steps about to the middle, after which in a rather uneven form begins to repeat from time to time.
In addition, the imbalance among screen time animals can be quite upsetting. Some animals appear in the frame only once and indifferent to the plot, while others, such as a bear and a tiger, are devoted to whole micro-story in the context of common events. Of course, animals in such a story should not only please the eye and delight with their presence, but be part of the story told and shown on the screen, but even with a large timekeeping of the film, there is sometimes a lack of them. Many empty and sagging scenes would be better replaced by the appearance of our smaller brothers, giving much more pleasure from watching than protracted plans and overexposed pauses. Which, however, does not prevent some episodes with animals to be also quite unnecessary for video scenes, such as the moment with snakes and an unlocked lid.
Remove from the film 20 minutes of surplus, self-repeats and trampling on the spot, adding dynamics, and timekeeping adjusted for more suitable for family viewing an hour and a half of time, would be much better and much more pleasant to watch. But what Cameron Crowe ended up with is a wonderful and very touching story, with an extremely attractive cast, perfectly coped with their roles. A good family film, turned out really bright, pleasant and memorable. And so - charging positive and good mood.
8 out of 10
Original