The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Critics Movie Review

RATING - 3 STARS

Walter Mitty is, ultimately, the story of its protagonist fusing the brave hero of his phantasy life with the timid simple of his real one. “Each fantasy results in him changing into United Nations agency he's,” Stiller explained after, “and ultimately having the ability to comprehend his full self.” the primary time that fusion takes place, once the $64000 guy 1st will the sort of factor he’d solely dream of, he features a powerful moment of self-realisation, muttering to himself, “Oh my God. that actually happened.”

At its heart, then, it’s a decent old style journey picture, with an important dose of humor and heart. Stiller’s direction is skilled throughout; he will a number of his best add huge, wide, usually well-nigh empty compositions, and there’s a splendidly unchanged quality to style|the fashion} normally (and the assembly design in particular). the placement work and camera work area unit spectacular, however Stiller is simply as enraptured with the sprung rhythms of the peculiar characters Mitty meets on the way; there’s a stunning very little scene with Patton Oswalt, for instance, and his encounter with Ólafur Darri Ólafsson’s bibulous chopper pilot, capped with a superbly regular “OK, I’m not gonna keep company with you,” is that the comic part.

With such high aims, it’s regrettable that the key lifetime of Walter Mitty falls somewhat in need of greatness. It is, at times, a trifle too precious for its own sensible, and Stiller is commonly willing to let his indie audio recording do the labor of setting that elusive tone. there's a weird, left-field spoof of Benjamin Button that appears flown in from a Friedberg/Seltzer joint. And, as you will have detected, there's some fairly distracting product placement banging round the film (though the critics United Nations agency area unit discounting the image alone thereon basis area unit due for an extended, unhappy speak on however Hollywood works).

But it’s hardly ever that you just stumble upon a “big” picture as earnest and apparently un-cynical as this one. There’s not a mean bone in its entire body; it’s a stunning, likable picture, and shows a growth within the humanity of Stiller’s directorial work that's inspiriting so.