Movie Review Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children (2016)

 

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children | 2016 | 2h 7m
Genre: Fantasy/Thriller/Drama/Adventure/Family | Country: UK-US
Director: Tim Burton | Writers: Ransom Riggs, Jane Goldman
Cast: Eva Green, Asa Butterfield, Samuel L. Jackson, etc.
IMDB: 6.7
My Rate: 7/10

Jake decides to investigate the house his grandfather told him about after finding his grandfather's unnatural death.  The investigation opens a mystery about hidden powers and an adventurous door that changes everything.

 

Warnings:

Contains violence, strong language, sensuality, and alcohol.

 

Synopsis:

Jake (Asa Butterfield) gets a call from his grandfather, Abe (Terence Stamp), who sounds panicked because he can't find his gun in the house. Jake decides to visit his grandfather's house only to find his grandfather's unnatural death with his eyes missing. But before he breathes his last, Abe asks Jake to go back in time and meet Miss Peregrine (Eva Green).

Jake often hears stories about Miss Peregrine and the Peculiar Children from Abe. Jake's parents say that all the stories Abe told are just imagination and lies. Despite this, Jake still wants to prove those stories.

Jake is finally able to convince his parents to go to Cairnholm, where the house is located, with the help of his psychiatrist. Jake's father also joins the trip while researching the birds on the island. But, it turns out the house he's going to isn't what he imagined.

The house has been destroyed and, based on information from the locals, the house was destroyed by a bomb during the war. Jake, who is still curious, tries to explore the house. Jake meets the peculiar children who take him through time.  Jake finally believes the stories Abe told him after seeing it with his own eyes.

Jake doesn't know that this adventure will be a dangerous one after Barron and the Hollows appear. Will Jake be able to save the people there?

 

Review:

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is a fantasy film adapted from the 2011 novel of the same name by Ransom Riggs. The story presented is very interesting about time travel and superpowers. The story about time travel certainly still has loopholes that might be missed if you look at it from the perspective of logic.

The background of the story and characters are presented well and clearly. However, the time span from the development of the story to the conflict takes a long time, which makes it a little boring. The conflict shown is also not too much, the fights shown are also not too adrenaline-pumping, like they lack challenge and excitement.

#spoiler. The ending of the story is presented well if you look at it from the story's perspective.  But, there are things that are not explained, like how Jake's parents are doing in the year Jake disappeared. This is what I said at the beginning that the time traveler theme is a tricky theme and there are many things that need to be considered to make it fit into logic that is often ignored.

Some other things that are not paid much attention to are when Jake returns to 2016 where he meets his grandfather. The existence of his grandfather still alive in 2016 indirectly also shows that 'Jake' in 2016 also exists. Logically, that means that in 2016, Jake becomes two people.

There are details that are also not paid much attention to, like the size of the chicken that Claire is going to eat. The size of the chicken when it's on the plate looks very big, but when it's held, it becomes small. This is an inconsistency that is ignored.

There's also a scene where Emma takes off her shoes to run away and save Jake. Logically, those shoes would be left where she took them off. But, when they get to the beach, Emma is suddenly wearing them again.

Another scene is when they are all locked in a room by Barron. A split second after Barron closes the door, Jake immediately reveals the plan they will do. Logically, Barron should have been able to hear that because he just closed the door.

Aside from the story details, the acting of the actors is quite good and doesn't look stiff. The wardrobe and clothes used are quite interesting. The camera movement and animation used are also quite smooth. Unfortunately, the scenes showing the superpowers of each child are not many. It should have been made more maximal so it would be more interesting.

Overall, this film is still interesting to watch, although it could probably be optimized again in terms of storytelling.

 

Memorable Scene:

Jake receives a call from Abe while in the past and Jake expresses his longing for Abe.  Jake also says that Abe is the best grandfather.  Although Jake knows that Abe won't understand what he's saying, Jake still chooses to express his love for Abe.

 
Memorable Dialogue:

"It's been my privilege to care for you all"

 

Ending:

Happy Ending

 

Recommendation:

Worth to Watch

 

(Aluna)