Great Family Movie

Rating: 10/10 (2 April 2018)

This movie is a must see for family. I first off never read the book, but I am part of the generation this movie is referencing toward. I had an Atari 2600, Intellivison and Colecovision. I was one of the geeks that would spend weekends playing D and D. I was into anime, cartoons and science fiction. But as with all of us, we all grow older with family and responsibilities. That said, I convinced my wife (who was never into Sci-fi or Fantasy movies) and my 12 yr daughter and 9 yr son to see this movie with no prior pre-conceptions. The result was that we absolutely loved it!
In the movie the CGI graphics were amazing, my kids were glued to the screen watching all the action and effects. There were never any slow or boring parts in the CGI world. Caution: The part looking for the second key might be intense for younger kids (mine just closed their eyes). All the numerous characters and 80's references my wife and I found definitely gave us nostalgic smile and laughs during the movie.
The seamless action and story of the characters in the real world was actually riveting and it felt the long movie run time went by fairly quick. I thought all the characters fitted well and not once did my family groan about a character.
I know there has been some negative reviews by people who are comparing it to the book (just like the movie "Enders Game"). However, if you look at this movie as it is presented to the viewer, it is a fantastic movie! My family could not stop talking about it the last few days. I really enjoyed the ending with the final general message that Spielberg is relaying, where true life and happiness comes from. That powerful underlying message was something my kids took out of this movie, besides the absolute great storytelling.
If you have kids, I strongly recommend you take them to see it!