Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children: "You've Made Us Feel Brave"

Director: Tim Burton
Writer:     Jane Goldman
Starring: Eva Green
                Asa Butterfield
                Chris O'Dowd
                Allison Janney
                Rupert Everett
                Judi Dench
                Terence Stamp
                Ella Purnell
                Samuel L. Jackson 
Rating:    **

Release Date: Out Now 

Miss Peregrine has everything a film needs for the perfect recipe of a winning blockbuster. Directed by the imaginative and explorative Tim Burton, Written by the dry and sharp Jane Goldman and starring Oscar Winners and Nominees and superb young actors. However the finished product is busy, cold and anti-climactic. This film might go down as being the biggest disappointment of 2016, in my opinion.

Judi Dench

When Jacob (Butterfield) discovers various clues to an ancient mystery that covers different worlds and times; he soon comes across Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children; kind of a boarding school run by the elusive Miss Peregrine (Green). The children she cares for all have magical and special powers, only broadening the mystery for Jacob, who soon finds himself in danger from the children's powerful enemies. Luckily, it isn't long before Jacob realises that his own 'peculiarity' can save himself and all of his new friends.

Asa Butterfield and Ella Purnell are wonderful young actors who relish their scenes and in each role I've seen them in thy have always been extremely captivating. Butterfield especially is the perfect driving force for this film and carries the whole story along with great maturity. That being said, the script is so convoluted and jam packed, that it got far too confusing and lost; causing the performances to take a blow.

Eva Green & Asa Butterfield

The older stars are all terrific actors Dench, Everett, O'Dowd. Janney and Jackson. They are a spectacular mix of both dramatic and comedic actors, but they aren't necessarily character actors. Tim Burton films rely heavily on quirky and unusual characters that the actors lose themselves in, which didn't really come to fruition with this cast. Eva Green as Miss Peregrine also seemed to be ding her best Helena Bonham Carter impression; it almost felt like Burton had envisioned her in the role, but then the divorce happened.

I have always loved Jane Goldman's work, from kick-ass to Kingsman and all that's in between; but her writing in this film felt disconnected from herself  and actors. The feeling for me, was that writer and director had very different visions; and the two just couldn't quite meet in the middle. Burton tries to conjure up one of his usual, busy, visual masterpieces, while Goldman's script was equally as busy; resulting in a muddled film that lost all of it's heart, which in turn lost my interest and then the ending just felt like a non-event.

It had all of the ingredients to be a superbly visual, dramatic and elaborate film that people would have been talking about for years to come, but instead it had the complete opposite effect and left me wanting the end, not wanting more.

 Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Trailer