A Wrinkle in Time

The Gist: A young scientist working on a new theory of space travel disappears mysteriously. Years later, his daughter Meg, her brother, and a friend from school receive a visit from three fantastical beings. Meg’s challenge will be finding her long lost father somewhere in the universe.

I am a fan of director Ava DuVernay’s work, so I was looking forward to her latest film. Unfortunately, A Wrinkle in Time is not a good movie. The best thing about it are arguably the eye-popping visual effects, and that’s hardly enough to salvage it.

Relative newcomer Storm Reid does an admirable job in the lead, as does Levi Miller as Calvin. Two promising young actors. Alas, Deric McCabe, who plays the younger brother, came across as stiff and not believable. Maybe in time he’ll get better.

Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, and Oprah Winfrey clearly had quite a bit of fun playing their roles, but the characters felt a bit empty. Chris Pine and Gugu Mbatha-Raw are perfectly cast as the loving couple.

The Bottom Line: While pleasant enough to watch and likely sufficiently entertaining for a younger crowd, I’d recommend to wait for the DVD to come out. I haven’t read the book this work is based on, but I can’t imagine it not being far better.

Grade: 4