A good premise and good music....that's about all.

Rating: 5/10 (21 November 2007)

This is a family film that looked like it might be different. It could've been an excellent movie, because the premise was actually quite good, but instead we end up with nonstop events leading to a ridiculous ending to an average film.
All his life, Taylor (Freddie Highmore) knew his parents were listening for him, and music is what would bring them together. Taylor can find music in anything, and because of this he's picked on at the orphanage. He decides to run away and the plot goes from there. This movie almost felt like an anthology at times, because it would quickly switch plots from Taylor (later known as August Rush) to his mom to his dad, to the Wizard (Robin Williams looking a lot like Bono). It is a very sweet movie, and it has good music in it, but in all other categories it's lacking. The acting is pretty good, but the writing and direction ruins the acting. Keri Russell plays Taylor's mother, and the entire movie walks around with her mouth wide open, which gets very annoying. Clichés of all types are constantly being used, including the cliché bullies. There are also a lot of plot holes and inconsistencies, it just get's annoying. The last 20 minutes of the movie was the most ridiculous part and was hard to watch. But, if you don't care what the movies you see consist of, then this would be fine to see.
In the end, this is a pretty serious family film with good music, and some occasional fun moments, but overall it's a very clichéd, flawed film.
My rating: ** out of ****. 106 mins. PG for mild language and violence.