Poetic, helluva lot of fun, and whole

Rating: 9/10 (4 June 2016)

Another brilliant Tim Burton. The story taken from a novel, and it feels like it as we're plunged through a series of wild adventures, each one pleasantly whole and meaningful and always entertaining; and while all the action is supplied during the tale-telling, another story is being told in the actual original time and setting. Like the current and anecdotal timeframes are feeding off each other to build up the momentum for a grand ending. The film is dense with a lot of elements and pans out smoothly. Not once does it feel like there's too much or that it has too many participants. The moral is very original and not apprehended, it offers quite a lot to be discussed - the ending very touching as it is the culmination of the crescendo built progressively and patiently through the entire 2hrs+. The acting is consistently very good, and Billy Crudup does a very good job playing the jaded yet still attentive son. Overall the crux of the story, a man bored with reality constantly looking to thrill it up, is one that is very weighty with realism and implications, and this is a superbly executed version of that concept. Great cinematography, great fun; just one of these films that is quite perfect at what it sets out to do. Excellent.