Uncatchable Fish.

Rating: 9/10 (20 February 2004)

Giants, werewolves, witches, and some rather big fish.
Half of this movie is about a grown man brought up by a storytelling father who seems to be obsessed with the fairy tales he creates. Now, with the father on his deathbed, his son feels as though he doesn't know him at all and so attempts to bridge the emotional gap while recalling the fairy tales that his father told. And this brings us to the other half -- the fictional fairytale stories of the young Edward Bloom, who is everything from a soldier in Vietnam to a human cannonball to a bankrobber to a wealthy landowner ... he faces all kinds of fantastic creatures and people throughout his life, and befriends all of them.
The Father/Son relationship is easily one of the most over-explored in Hollywood, and more often than not signals schmaltzy background music, tender moments and a lot of heartfelt talk about baseball. Bleurgh. However, "Big Fish" actually manages to try something different with a tired old formula and actually pull it off superbly well. This movie is actually a lot like "Forrest Gump", what with the accents and the comedic, fantasy retelling of a person's life -- certainly not a project you'd associate with the Master of Darkness, Tim Burton.
Contrary to what some might say, Tim Burton just doesn't make bad movies. He makes great ones, and decent ones -- usually one after the other in sequence. As his previous movie was the heavily-flawed and ill-conceived "Planet of the Apes" remake, this one was due to be a great one anyway. It doesn't necessary feel like a Tim Burton movie the whole way through... sure, you've got those weird trees, some slanted houses and plenty of surreal, Gothic darkness here and there, but much of it could just as well have been a Spielberg project, particularly in the Father/Son sequences. The main difference, though, is that Burton doesn't pile on the Schmaltz as another director would. Even the inevitable death sequence is both abrupt and tasteful, and no longer than it needs to be.
This is another entertaining and heartfelt film from Tim Burton, at least of the quality we expect from this great director. Everyone should see this movie.