Tim Burton has not failed to deliver yet another stunning movie, but “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” falls into a whole new category in regards to his previous movies.
While the movie certainly has the dark moments that are to be expected from Burton, they are few and far between. There is an aura of whimsy and joy that permeates the film even in some of the most dire of scenes; however, this does not mean that Burton has chosen to downplay the conflicts present in the plot.
Expect to see scenes with unsettlingly unnaturalness, but also expect a look into some of humanities true dark acts as the stage for half this film. The movie can be divided into two even parts.
The first half is mostly exposition. Normally, taking so long to set the stage would be the downfall of a movie, but Burton is able to make that first hour entirely interesting and visually stunning.
The problem that lies in this extended introduction is that the viewer then forgets what the conflict is. There is no urgency present after the first 15 minutes.
Luckily, Burton revives the urgency before the story gets too mundane. The action in the film is short and swift, but not at all disappointing.
Every character is brilliantly utilized. The battle is entertaining from beginning to end, partly due to those involved, but also because of genius music choices.
Time, however, is the biggest thing stopping me from giving this movie 5 stars, but not because of the run time or the way it is utilized.
The movie relies so heavily on the element of time and time travel, yet it breaks so many rules established as cannon and rules established by the movie itself. Thankfully, the rule breaking only occurs within the last ten minutes of the movie, leaving the main plot largely unaffected by the confusion that results.
While I will not spoil any details, the end, unfortunately, creates more questions than answers, but not in the way that would warrant a sequel. It will leave viewers less focused on almost everything they’ve seen in the two hours before as they try to understand the way this world works.
4 out of 5 stars.
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