Darcsyde01

First off, let me get this out of the way. I love this movie, however, as I watched it, I couldn't escape the feeling I've seen this before.

Turns out, I have. This movie shares major plot points with Driven (2001) starring Stallone and Burt Reynolds.

The plot of Driven goeth thusly: Talented rookie race-car driver is having issues winning races. Car's owner brings a former racing star on board to help. However, the pro must first deal with the emotional scars left over from a tragic racing accident.

Sounds familiar?

F1 is not as flashy as Driven,is more realistic, with much better acting.

The only great thing about this movie is that Stitch was still Stitch. Everything else.....no so much.

All involved did a good job with what they had to work with, problem being that what they were given to work with wasn't much and felt rushed.

My real issue is they guttend the heart and soul out of the story by eliminating a vital aspect of Stitch's redemption while taking a big ol' Dizzy-land size dump on another character's redemption arc by making this person, (not the absent Capt. Gantu) this movie's Big Bad.

Leave it to Disney to wreck, yet another classic.

I'll stick to the original.

Well.... that was a..... thing....?

Another movie I have mixed feelings about. Good effects, wonderful atmosphere, great score, solid acting out of the principles, but....the story?

YEESH.

I have the notion that 4 different writers came up with 4 different story ideas, and Burton just Gorilla Taped them together and tried to make a cohesive movie.

He failed.... sort of.

There were plot threads that either went nowhere, or were resolved far to quickly. The film took a lot of time trying to establish Monica Bellucci, "Mr. Juice's" ex-wife, as the movie's "big bad", a soul sucking demon out for the B-man's soul. But, other than floating menacingly around the Afterlife's corridors, she does very little.

Then the film tries to tell us that a resident of the town is not what he seems is the "big bad, but he's dispatched rather anti-climatically.

Some jokes, like the MacArthur Park bit went on far too long. Some came and went almost without notice.

Rules that were established in the first one, are broken here with no explanation as to why.. Justin Theroux was waaaay beyond annoying and make my teeth grind on screen, to the point were I was tempted to hit the "mute" button every time he was making mouth noises.

However, on the other hand, Ryder was great as a long-suffering Lydia trying to deal with her rebellious daughter, a pushy boyfriend, horrific visions of Beetlejuice.....and her manic mom.

Speaking of "Mom", O' Hara is back as the ditzy Delia Deetz (say that 3 times fast!) and she is even more self-absorbed, manic, and more gleefully annoying than ever.

Jenna Ortega did a good job as Astra, Lydia's "normie" daughter.

Keaton was, as always, suburb as the Ghost With the Most, even though it seems like he was...muzzled somewhat by the haphazard plot construction.

Bob and the Skinners were, fun, in a "Minions" kind of way, but you can, blatantly, tell how they are created by the way there arms move, which takes you out of the movie for a bit when they show up.

And, if your wondering about the Maitland's whereabouts, that's mentioned as "they found a loophole", but, later, in another one of those far-to-long jokes you can see it's not such thing.

Also, Jeffrey Jones may not be in the movie, but his character, Charles is for quite a bit of the movie in a gloriously gory way.

There were,also, some really good bad jokes that made my lizard brain giggle, like, the shape of Charles tombstone, One of the additions to the model town was the Maitland's car, nose down in the river. You really have to look to see it, but it confirms that either Adam Maitland had a dark sense of humor, or all that time stuck in the house....with Delia...drove the poor soul nutzo, which is why they took advantage of the "loophole".

Overall not a bad movie, but not the masterpiece it could have been.