Hands down best movie to ever exist

Rating: 10/10 (15 October 2018)

The phrase "life is like a box of chocolates" is extremely misleading. While it is true that you never know what will be inside that box, the contents of a chocolate box are always good, unlike life. If you live a life like anyone but Forrest Gump, life is actually like a box of those jelly beans that are either tasty flavors such as lime or strawberry banana, or disgusting ones like grass clippings or rotten eggs. Forrest Gump, played by Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump, stumbles through life aimlessly and ends up being one of the most successful men on the planet. Robert Zemeckis' Forrest Gump is one of the most iconic movies and should serve as the model for how a film should be made. Its wonderful storytelling, advanced special effects, and valuable life lessons raises the movie to a level that only a select few have eclipsed.
Zemeckis brilliantly tells the story of Forrest's life through a series of flashbacks. The plot is intriguing by itself, but the flashbacks add a unique spin to the movie. Forrest is first introduced as a middle aged man sitting at a bus stop adorning a pair of extremely worn out shoes holding a suitcase and a box of chocolates. Although some might argue that the use of flashbacks is unnecessary, the audience receives a lot of insight about Forrest's life by telling the story through flashbacks. Forrest effectively serves as a narrator and is able to tell the audience what he was thinking and what resulted from his actions. By delivering the story in flashbacks, Forrest is also able to provide comedic relief throughout the movie. From moments when he explains how he was named after the founder of the KKK, to how he inspired Elvis Presley's dancing or even he is reminiscing about visiting the White House, the movie provides an effective amount of comedy in order to maintain its seriousness. Forrest's narration also provides a seamless transition between various flashbacks. This, combined with the fact that the plot of the story is based off of what actually happened in real life, makes for impeccable storytelling. By having the plot revolve around events like the Vietnam War and multiple presidencies, the viewers who grew up or lived during these times can easily recollect their experiences. The powerful storytelling combined with amazing special effects makes Forrest Gump one of the most memorable films.
The special effects team demonstrates their mastery throughout the duration of the movie. Forrest is embedded into numerous video clips that display monumental moments in history and include some of the most iconic figures of the 60s and 70s. Forrest can be seen shaking hands with John F. Kennedy, showing his gun shot wound to Lyndon Johnson, and discovering the Watergate scandal during Richard Nixon's presidency. He also appears on a TV show with John Lennon. These edited videos provide laughs for the entire audience in addition to making the film very memorable by relating Forrest's life to what actually happened in real life. The editors and producers don't only excel in planting Forrest in the middle of history changing moments, but demonstrate their excellence while depicting events of the Vietnam war. The movie is able to accurately portray the scene in Vietnam with huge explosions and gunfire, as well as adding in rain that goes sideways or even seems like it's rising up. The scenes of the war are able to show men getting blown up, bleeding out, and losing their limbs. The effects team was also able to demonstrate their ability while creating the very first scene of the movie. The screen opens up and follows a feather making abrupt movements, wandering about in the air. Although it may sound simple, complicated movements in the background are also completed, and the entire surrounding area is painted by following the feather around. The scene also provides a brilliant metaphor for Forrest's life. Like a feather, Forrest goes through life without a care in the world for his future actions but makes it through without any harm. The movie is told with brilliant storytelling and visual imagery(don't forget about the top-notch soundtrack too), but is set apart by its valuable lessons.
Forrest Gump is one of the greatest teaching movies. Since Forrest has a really low IQ and comprehension of basic topics, many of the life lessons are simple and easy to understand. Even though the words of wisdom Forrest provides seem very basic, they effectively make the audience rethink their understanding life. For example, as Forrest making his famous run across the country, he tells the audience how it is necessary to get over your past before you can move forward. Even for a successful man like Forrest, he needed to get over the past tragedies of his life like losing his best friend Bubba in war, his mother dying of cancer, and losing his childhood love Jenny. The value of true friendship is also demonstrated as Forrest gives the half of the profit from his multimillion-dollar shrimping business to Bubba's family since he wanted to keep his promise of sharing the profits. Forrest's journey also teaches the audience that sometimes the best we can do is to just try our best and hope everything works out in the end. No matter what, he always supported Jenny even though she put him through a lot of emotional trauma. In the end, their childhood romance is completed as they get married and Forrest becomes a father. Forrest's adventure is filled with models for how one should live their life, like finding what you truly love and being able to do that. What got him places in the first place was running, which allowed him to go to college so he could play football. After becoming a successful player, he became a war hero due to his ability to run. One of the most important things that stemmed from his love of running was when he got famous during his trips across America, which led him back to the love of his life Jenny. Although very unrealistic, it teaches the audience that sticking through the tough times and always working hard will result in a better outcome than what you started at. Forrest's success can only be attributed to those simple lessons Forrest was taught by his mother as a kid growing up.
The effective storytelling of Forrest's journey makes Forrest Gump of the most memorable films. Filled with comedy, drama, and action, the movie surpasses expectations for storytelling as well as the visual effects elevating the film to a higher level. The movie effectively provides support for its audience, advising them how they can get through life successfully even if they start from the back of the pack like Forrest. These three aspects are just a few of the reasons why Forrest Gump is one of the most iconic movies and why it won six Academy Awards. Even if you are not old enough to relate to the events of the film, it serves as one of the most enjoyable and iconic movies ever created. Forrest's journey provides the basis for what a movie should be, and what film directors should aspire to make.