Review: Downsizing

"A wired movie that throws many ideas at you, but ultimately leaves you feeling that they could have focused on less and had more impact."

General Thoughts:

This movie is an odd one. It's not a typical film by any means and it bases much of its appeal and promotion around the 'downsizing' aspect of the story.

However, the film is more about environmental issues, finding your place in the world, human nature, helping others, end of the world, and many more ideas that are all thrown in for good measure.

What could have been changed:

I felt the movie could have started at the point where Matt Damon has just arrived in Leasureland and has just been made small. We could have discovered this world through his initial days there. Instead, we have a fairly slow opening to the film that is much more detailed than the film needed. Once the film introduces both Christoph Waltz and Hong Chau, the film picks up a gear and is much more humorous. This was the strong aspect of the film and could have been the focus.

What doesn't work:

The tone is all over the place with this film. As I've said, it tries to cram a lot of different ideas, and whilst it’s all tied to the wonder of 'going small', the film doesn't quite find the right balance for everything and by the end you're kinda sick of it all and want it to end.

What does work:

Matt Damon is good, but Christoph Waltz and Hong Chau steal the show. The effects are pretty good, although at times the scale seems a little inconsistent.

Recommendation:

Interesting, but don't go in expecting a light film in the style of the trailers. It's a bit of a slog, but at least it’s trying something a little different and should be supported at the box office.