When you try to judge the movie objectively, there's no doubt it's very flawed. A ton of things in here make very little sense, are oversimplified or overly sugar-coated, to the point where this becomes basically a fairytale. You can see the broad strokes, the emotional manipulation and pandering all over it. The casting of Tom Hanks for this Bulgarian-speaking guy from Eastern Europe shouldn't even work. That being said, I have a very hard time judging the movie purely that way because it manages to be just so incredibly sweet... and this is coming from someone who tends to have a more cynical view on most "feelgood movies".
A lot of the time you can practically feel the movie doing everything it can to distract you from the problems that are definitely there on paper, but even despite that it somehow works. Tom Hanks being Tom Hanks is already doing a great deal of the work, the stellar cast around him certainly helps as well, the movie looks great (though the color grading is pretty aggressive and noticeable), the comedy mostly works and you just end up being swept up in this warm and fuzzy feeling that the movie manages to evoke.
While this does not make this an absolutely superb movie, it definitely is a very enjoyable watch that kept me engaged despite the rather long runtime for a film like this. If the presentation does not work for you and you find yourself looking too much past it, the movie will collapse from the inside. But if it does, you will come out of this movie with a smile on your face.
Review by ObiJanBlockedParent2021-11-13T23:55:50Z
When you try to judge the movie objectively, there's no doubt it's very flawed. A ton of things in here make very little sense, are oversimplified or overly sugar-coated, to the point where this becomes basically a fairytale. You can see the broad strokes, the emotional manipulation and pandering all over it. The casting of Tom Hanks for this Bulgarian-speaking guy from Eastern Europe shouldn't even work. That being said, I have a very hard time judging the movie purely that way because it manages to be just so incredibly sweet... and this is coming from someone who tends to have a more cynical view on most "feelgood movies".
A lot of the time you can practically feel the movie doing everything it can to distract you from the problems that are definitely there on paper, but even despite that it somehow works. Tom Hanks being Tom Hanks is already doing a great deal of the work, the stellar cast around him certainly helps as well, the movie looks great (though the color grading is pretty aggressive and noticeable), the comedy mostly works and you just end up being swept up in this warm and fuzzy feeling that the movie manages to evoke.
While this does not make this an absolutely superb movie, it definitely is a very enjoyable watch that kept me engaged despite the rather long runtime for a film like this. If the presentation does not work for you and you find yourself looking too much past it, the movie will collapse from the inside. But if it does, you will come out of this movie with a smile on your face.