“Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” is the most recent feature from the mind of Tim Burton. Based on the synonymous book series, it tells the story of a home for children with special abilities and gifts, like being lighter than air or invisible. This home keeps them safe from the outside world and anyone who wishes to see the children harmed. While this does bare resemblance to other popular works of fiction, I’m happy to say that Burton delivers the movie with enough style and uniqueness that it makes for a very enjoyable time.
First off, this film is full of Tim Burton’s patented dark and twisted imagery. Monsters, heavy shadows, and even some disturbing visuals are abundant here and it helps keep the story from being as generic as it could. There is plenty of creativity here and, whether it came from Burton or the original material, there is enough of it to keep the viewer intrigued and interested. Still, while the first half of the film kept me guessing about what was going on and had me pulled in, the second half followed the exact route I expected it to. The climax and conclusion are still fun, but almost any movie-goer can predict how the film will end: thus, taking away some of the suspense.
Thankfully, the characters that inhabit this world make it so that even if the story has been done it is still interesting and enjoyable to watch. All these children have such out-of-the-box traits that it really makes the word feel unique and different from the other films with this premise.
Unfortunately, this leads to one issue I had with the film: the main protagonist. Sometimes, the actor’s delivery seemed wooden and even had me laughing to myself of just how badly he said a line. Now, he isn’t like that through the entire movie, but it sticks out like a sore thumb among the rest of the cast who are all just incredible. Shout-outs to Eva Green as the titular Miss Peregrine and Samuel L. Jackson just doing whatever he wants as the villain for hitting just the right amount of over-the-top. Both did a great job in their respective roles and really held the film together. Other noteworthy cast members included the surprisingly good child actors, which were some of the better ones I’ve seen recently.
“Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” is a great ride. It may have some-what of a predictable story, but the characters, creativity, and imagery are all enough to keep the audience curious to see what weird thing will be around the next corner. I highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Tim Burton or those who like to have their films with a few darker elements than normal. A must see for just about anybody. 8.5/10
