Pros:
1.) Robert Downey, Jr. is trying to keep this movie altogether. He is easily the stand-out actor of this movie for good reason; he plays a charming weirdo who can talk to animals and does not like to interact with humans. He is talented as ever especially when he is talking to CG animals, and I hope he will leave his Iron Man days behind and work on other roles that will help him stand out more as an actor.
2.) The CG animals are not too bad. These creatures show some emotion (even though many animals never do show any emotion), and they can be charming at times. I argue that if this level of emotion was in The Lion King (2019), that movie would be slightly better, but I digress. The interactions between Dolittle and the animals are good because the CG is convincing enough to make these creatures look real…
Cons:
1.) …I cannot say the same thing with the green screen effects. It is so obvious when these actors are in front of a green screen that it is distracting. It almost looks like they belong in a PS4 video game rather than a movie: it may look nice, but it does not belong there. Give them more time, and it may look like it fits.
2.) I cannot believe how bad the editing is in this movie. The movie is clearly fast-forwarding so many moments and events, it does not give a clear picture of where the scene takes place. There are plenty of scenes where the characters are in a predicament, and it skips to them nearly getting out of that conflict. How did they get out of it initially? I do not know; the filmmakers may have cut some scenes to shorten the time, probably because they believe that they are boring the audience. Trust me; the movie has so many problems already, and the editing and pacing are not helping.
3.) I do not care about any of the characters whatsoever (except Polynesia the macaw played by Emma Thompson, she was pretty cool). Dr. John Dolittle is boring (despite Robert Downey, Jr. trying his best), any of the animal characters are one-note and uninteresting despite their charm barely helping them (and they have their own dull subplots), the antagonists scream that they are villains (and one of the antagonist’s death was so unsatisfying and quick, I would not be surprised if some people mistakenly believe that he may be alive), many of the other side characters were poorly explored, and Tommy Stubbins played by Harry Collet is not only the worst character of the bunch with such poor motivations and characteristics (especially with how quickly he learns how to speak to animals), but he is also the worst actor of the entire cast with such unconvincing acting. If none of the characters are that interesting to explore, why should I bother paying attention to their generic journey?
Overall:
I have never read any of the books that the movie is based on, but I do recall seeing Eddie Murphy’s Dr. Dolittle movies when I was younger, but I do not remember much. I am willing to bet that those movies are better than this new iteration because this movie is awful. None of the characters stand out, the green screen effects are lackluster, the pacing moves in a rapid speed that it does not give the audience much to breathe, the editing does not clue in what is exactly happening, and not even Robert Downey, Jr. cannot save this glorified mess of a movie. The movie certainly did little (sorry) to make it enjoyable, though it is a January movie, so that should not be a surprise. Maybe watch the Eddie Murphy versions, but do not watch this piece of jungle poop.
2/10
benzeyeview 