The Not-so-secretive Life of Walter Mitty

Rating: 6/10 (10 January 2014)

There is nothing secretive about the life of Ben Stiller's Walter Mitty. Nothing extraordinary or even remotely interesting about it, yet here we are.
The film adds nothing to the genre, in fact Ben Stiller uses all the oh-so-familiar cookie-cutter techniques. It is plagued by comically one dimensional characters like the despicable boss, harassed protagonist looking for redemption, female love interest who adds nothing to the narrative; even Sean Penn appears in a self-parodying cameo as the brooding, I'm-so-much-deeper-than-you Sean O'Connell. Add to this the contrived plot which stretches plausibility to make sure all odd ends are tied up and the clichéd theme of taking control of your life, you'd expect quite the train-wreck on your hands.
Despite all expectations otherwise, the film works, barely. The themes may be familiar, but they still retain familiar human appeal. The film is shot beautifully, helped by varied geographies and some inventive camera work, especially in the credit sequences. The music too befits an undertaking of this nature and overall, the film, while not uplifting, manages a marginal elevation of spirits if one has reasonable expectations of it. 6.5/10