Disappointing. Didn't meet it's potential.

Rating: 7/10 (19 January 2017)

The premise of this story could have made it thematically rich like few others can be, but so much of that was left alone, reducing it to little more than a gimmick. With a protagonist who ages backwards, one would think that this film would examine life a little more than it did and have more depth to it. There are some interesting things that are addressed like how similar childhood can be to old age. But all it really turned out to be was a love story with a minor twist.
Really, this story probably deserved to be told in the longer form of a TV series. Benjamin's daily life would probably be quite interesting to see, but when the plot has to be advanced as it does in a movie, that sort of thing is lost. Instead we get more of a highlight reel of his life. This is not intrinsically good or bad, but it can be a problem if the most important moments of a person's life just aren't that interesting. All Benjamin ever really does is wander around for a few years until he finds Daisy.
Daisy is the most vibrant character, and fits the prototype of F. Scott Fitzgerald's woman characters. But I never wanted her and Benjamin to be together. I never got the impression that they loved each other. Benjamin also takes a very passive approach to life, just sort of letting it happen to him. He sees so much of the world but never considers how he should take part in it. Perhaps, that is picky, but it makes him a rather flat character.
I can see why it got such a positive response, because it's historical and has some good performances from the main roles. Plus the spfx that make Brad Pitt look like he is 80 years old are notable. Besides that it's a human story with a fantastical premise. I can't deny that the technical crew work of the movie is great, but the sub-par story makes it fall short. I really shouldn't trash it too much. After all, it's telling the story of a person's life, so it was probably short-sighted of me to expect a cohesive story. Real life doesn't work like that.
If you're a David Fincher fan, be warned that this is lighter than his other movies. You can still tell that he's directing it, but it has a different tone than Fight Club, Seven, and Gone Girl. For viewers in general, this is worth a shot, but do not expect too much. You may love the story and think it's beautiful, but you might also think that it drags on and gets boring. To get the full sense of the movie, I think you just need to let it wash over you and not be too analytical or too detached. Overall Rating: 7.5/10