Oh, Benjamin, Benjamin... How You've Disappointed Me...

Rating: 7/10 (31 December 2008)

This movie should have been so much better. It should have been the best film of the year. It should have been the best movie of the decade. It should have been a lot of things. Considering all the rave reviews, the fact that it vaulted into the IMDb Top 100 in record time, and of course the incredible trailer, it led me to believe this was going to be another brilliant David Fincher movie. The man has had an almost flawless career, with Seven, Fight Club and Zodiac among others. But Mr. Fincher greatly disappointed me with this film.
First of all, there is so much CGI in this movie, you never know when you're watching Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett or just a computerized version of someone else with just their heads superimposed on the bodies. The CGI affected the cinematography as well, because some of it was beautiful, but its like looking at a fake Picasso painting. It still looks nice, but you know its just not the real thing. Cate is lovely as always, and Mr. Pitt gives a good performance considering the circumstances of the character and plot. In the end, its nothing more than an interesting story done the wrong way. If you want to see it done the right way, watch or re-watch Forrest Gump. Other than Eric Roth being the writer on both films, they share almost identical structures and story lines, except that Gump was a clever and funny tale, while Button is sad and utterly depressing.
I was expecting so much, and barely got anything at all. Its a complex, deeply layered and epic tale, and it'll probably win 7 or 8 Oscars. Not that I think it deserves 7 or 8 Oscars, but it will.