The Last Mimzy (2007)

Lack of good storyline.

Great Film overall

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

To be fair, I thought some of the special effects were kind of cool, and the soundtrack was good. Otherwise, unless you're a yoga instructor, a soccer mom, Al Gore or an aging hippie, you'll find this movie to have far more cons than pros.First off, the family in this movie looks like their photo should be airbrushed onto the title of a modern parenting magazine. Emma is the generic fakely-cute little girl, lost in her own world, whereas her older brother Noah is a quiet, unmemorable, 2-D character with virtually no personality. The parents, Joanna "Jo" Wilder and Dave Wilder, act more like two newlywed college students than a mom and dad and have this belief that their kids are somehow much more gifted than any other kid out there. I mean, sure, every parent thinks they have the smartest kid on the planet, but the only thing to make these kids any different from all the other rugrats out there is an event that happens entirely by chance. Emma and Noah find a mysterious box on the beach which contains a variety of weird objects, including a stuffed rabbit named Mimzy. It's then that the kids start experiencing strange, new-found talents. Otherwise, this is a family so generic of the 21st century that there's nothing special at all about 'em.I know it's a fictional movie, but COME ON! The family gets dragged away by the FBI and locked away! Hello, Firestarter (1984)! This movie appears original at first but it isn't by any means. It seems to rip off many ideas from other movies.The acting in this movie is terrible! I've seen low-budget TV movies with better acting than The Last Mimzy, and I think the worst acting came from the roles of Emma and the parents.Elizabeth May, Al Gore, P.E.T.A. and Greenpeace would all love this movie. It's got a preachy, environmental message that underlies within the whole plot. When are those eco-freaks going to stop pushing their anti-pollution propaganda on little kids? Speaking of eco-freaks, this movie is full of bizarre new age crud, yoga-type stuff and weird zen things. Not in a religious way, more in a tacky way.All in all, this is a movie that claims to have a lot of deep intelligence and imagination, but ends up just being a big disappointment. If you want a truly amazing movie to show your kids, try Opal Dream (2006). Opal Dream is an Australian movie about a little girl who inspires the small opal mining town she lives in with her two imaginary friends, Pobby and Dingan. Opal Dream is one adults can enjoy as well, it's not childish but it's full of imagination and intelligence, believe it or not.

This film is a really good piece of entertainment for kids, with just enough high-concept sci-fi to keep the adults engaged as well. The overall theme of communication is well-embedded throughout the film, even down to the end credits, with a Roger Waters song that echoes some of his Pink Floyd classics. High marks for the two child actors, particularly Rhiannon Leigh Wryn as Emma Wilder, who with Chris O'Neil as her brother Noah, never seem to be acting, but come across as just two normal kids. The "government overstepping it's bounds" part of the plot seems a bit shoe-horned in, but it does give some minor characters a chance to get back into the story. All in all, a damn sight better than a lot of kids movies that slide into over-violent trash...

It isn't coincidence that this is actually an intellectually interesting children's movie, taken from a famous science fiction story 'Mimsy were the Borogoves' written by Lewis Padgett (Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore). It is one of my favorite short stories, although the story ends differently, and they had to embellish the story for the movie. Still, the deviations are acceptable and in the spirit of the story, and I understand why the ending needed to be as it is for the movie.My six-year-old granddaughter was enrapt as she watched the movie tonight, and I am going to buy her the Mimsy doll for Christmas along with a copy of the movie.This movie is seriously satisfying to watch in many ways. It treats children as being intellectually worthy and really plays on their intuitive superiority. It addressed the dullness that takes place over time and the way our brain processes crystallize as we age. Richard Posner discusses this in more than one of his books on law and economics, but particularly in his book Aging and Old Age. One example that comes to mind is that even children's cameras are crappy, they are cheap items that don't have the capability of taking high-quality pictures, because, after all, they are just for children. I say hogwash to this, and I wonder what pictures would come of high quality, albeit necessarily sturdy cameras in the hands of young children. Children are underestimated, talked down to, and it is simply a joke that we as adults come off our pedestals to present things in ways that children can understand them, when in actuality, we need to raise ourselves to higher levels to comprehend the sensibilities of children. The short story 'Mimsy were the Borogroves' and to a lesser extent the movie 'The Last Mimsy' explores the possibilities of childhood and the potential of children, in hyperbole, but it is aiming at something real. At least, that is what I believe the authors intended to convey.This was a movie that needed to be made, and it was well done to boot. Great acting, and the shooting looked good, high quality all around. They obviously had to take some dramatic license. Much like the ghost in Hamlet, you have to accept the terms of the story as presented even though in reality it would be absurd. There is a lot to glean here.After reading many comments criticizing the movie for not following the short story as written, it may have turned out great had they followed the story, but it could NEVER have been a family movie. They chose a direction with their embellishments and likewise changed the ending to be consistent with a family movie. Is that really such a terrible thing to do?

I have read a number of the low rating reviews and I have to conclude that these reviewers either a) didn't actually see the film or b)have an grotesquely jaundiced view of the world (Actually exactly the sort of people the film sees as 'poisoning' our environment right now). I thought all the characters responded quite accurately to the circumstances they encountered in the film and were themselves believable types from the real world. The Mimzy was a sophisticated device for identifying a subject and collecting DNA from the past. It's non- threatening approach was in tune with the elevated moral standards of a future society. All the actors did an excellent job with their roles however modest they were and the end result is a joy to watch.