Verdict
Summary
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children was quite disappointing and not a movie I would sit through again; it has some imaginative moments and Samuel L. Jackson is worth the price of entry alone but I’d say this is for Burton enthusiasts only.
Plot: When Jake discovers clues to a mystery that spans alternate realities and times, he uncovers a secret refuge known as Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As he learns about the residents and their unusual abilities, Jake realizes that safety is an illusion, and danger lurks in the form of powerful, hidden enemies. Jake must figure out who is real, who can be trusted, and who he really is.
Review: Tim Burton has been quite hit or miss over the years; the last films of his I truly enjoyed were Sleepy Hollow and Big Fish. He is at his best when he is working with composer Danny Elfman as they seem to understand each other perfectly. That’s the first mistake of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children was not bringing in Elfman to do the music score; it’s not that the music is bad it’s just very bland and forgettable without any tune.
You know immediately that you’re watching a Tim Burton film as his visuals are always strikingly bizarre yet fantastic. There is no doubting that the movie is incredibly imaginative with some memorable moments but for some reason the story just didn’t engage me and by the end of the movie I had pretty much zoned out. At 2 hours and 6 minutes it felt that long and could have had a few minutes chopped here and there just to flow a bit better.
Asa Butterfield was fine as the lead Jake, but you never really felt like you cared about him; sure, he misses his Grandfather and is an outcast in his world but aside from that you don’t know much about him nor do you ever really take any interest in him.
I love Eva Green and she was very entertaining as Miss Peregrine and the fact that she smoked a pipe just felt very Tim Burton; it’s a shame she never really gets to do anything and has no real story to tell either. She’s there just to protect the children from the real world but can’t prevent the real world from coming to find them.
The “peculiar” children are very Burten-esque and weird and as it’s adapted from a Young Adult novel you can definitely see where why it appealed to him as it’s suitably weird. Note, I said this is from a Young Adult novel and not a kid’s book as this is certainly not a movie for young children; it’s quite a dark and somber tale with some unsettling moments, especially scenes with monsters eating human eyes which is fucked up no matter what age you are.
The movie does get more interesting when Samuel L. Jackson eventually turns up and he looks creepier than I’ve ever seen him with his glowing white eyes and bizarre hair. He’s the big bad of the piece called Barron who is arguably the best element of the film.
Overall, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children was quite disappointing and not a movie I would sit through again; it has some imaginative moments and Samuel L. Jackson is worth the price of entry alone but I’d say this is for Burton enthusiasts only.