Let me start by saying that I saw this movie completely on a whim on Netflix when I had nothing else to do. And for what I got, I thought it was fine. Nothing great, but I don't know if that was what it was going for. The premise is pretty simple, and chances are you've heard it before: books come to life and reap havoc. Nothing particularly groundbreaking there. But Goosebumps makes up for it with a light hearted tone, and some enjoyable protagonists, for the most part.
Let me start with what this movie gets right. For me, it was the comedy; I caught myself laughing a number of times while watching, and there is (for the most part, I'll get to that later), a casual, light feel. The movie generally knows not to take itself too seriously, and when its working to that end, it works. There are also a number of cliches, but I think that was intentional, conceivably as a tribute to the source material. When the movie tries to play itself to the books, it works best, taking advantage with whatever jokes it can give with the monsters. Admittedly there were some missed opportunities, but I think there are enough to satisfy the casual fans. The characters are somewhat blank slates, but again, I think that's intentional. They're supposed to represent the normal people who react to the weird stuff around them, and Jack Black is enjoyably eccentric as RL Stine.
Now let's get to what the movie doesn't do right. As mentioned earlier, it works when it doesn't take itself seriously, but when it does take itself seriously, that's where its weakest. There's a twist with one of the characters, which, when I looked back, could've been omitted, and probably wouldn't have made any difference, but was put in for some last minute drama. Also, there were opportunities for some good horror satire, but we apparently passed up in favor of tributes to the books.
In summary, this movie is harmless enough. If you're interested some laughs, and want to seem some creative scenes, check it out, but don't expect anything grand.
Innocent Enough
Let me start by saying that I saw this movie completely on a whim on Netflix when I had nothing else to do. And for what I got, I thought it was fine. Nothing great, but I don't know if that was what it was going for. The premise is pretty simple, and chances are you've heard it before: books come to life and reap havoc. Nothing particularly groundbreaking there. But Goosebumps makes up for it with a light hearted tone, and some enjoyable protagonists, for the most part.
Let me start with what this movie gets right. For me, it was the comedy; I caught myself laughing a number of times while watching, and there is (for the most part, I'll get to that later), a casual, light feel. The movie generally knows not to take itself too seriously, and when its working to that end, it works. There are also a number of cliches, but I think that was intentional, conceivably as a tribute to the source material. When the movie tries to play itself to the books, it works best, taking advantage with whatever jokes it can give with the monsters. Admittedly there were some missed opportunities, but I think there are enough to satisfy the casual fans. The characters are somewhat blank slates, but again, I think that's intentional. They're supposed to represent the normal people who react to the weird stuff around them, and Jack Black is enjoyably eccentric as RL Stine.
Now let's get to what the movie doesn't do right. As mentioned earlier, it works when it doesn't take itself seriously, but when it does take itself seriously, that's where its weakest. There's a twist with one of the characters, which, when I looked back, could've been omitted, and probably wouldn't have made any difference, but was put in for some last minute drama. Also, there were opportunities for some good horror satire, but we apparently passed up in favor of tributes to the books.
In summary, this movie is harmless enough. If you're interested some laughs, and want to seem some creative scenes, check it out, but don't expect anything grand.