MOVIE REVIEW: CHILD’S PLAY

After moving to a new city, young Andy Barclay receives a special present from his mother -- a seemingly innocent Buddi doll that becomes his best friend. When the doll suddenly takes on a life of its own, Andy unites with other neighborhood children to stop the sinister toy from wreaking bloody havoc.

Director: Simon Kinberg

Cast: Gabriel Bateman, Aubrey Plaza, Brian Tyree Henry, Mark Hamill

Rated R for bloody horror violence, and language throughout

Release Date: June 21, 2019

Genres: Horror

Runtime: 1h 30 min

Review:

The remake of Child’s Play bears only passing resemblance to 80s original which isn’t a terrible thing.  Sure purist will complain about it but this new version does feel a bit cleaner and more straightforward which is a good and bad.  The film itself it fairly lean and moves at a decent pace although it does feel a tad rushed in spots.  Gabriel Bateman who plays Andy is solid if unimpressive in the lead role while Aubrey Plaza feels miscast and under utilized at the same time.  Brian Tyree Henry sparks up the film when he’s on screen but much like Plaza, the film doesn’t take advantage of their talents.  Mark Hamill’s voice as Chucky is distinctive enough from Brad Dourif’s work in the previous films to leave an impression.  Still, Dourif’s work is so iconic at this point that it’s hard to believe that anyone would choose this new iteration as their favorite.  Simon Kinberg directs the film with an odd sense of humor but it’s never all that edgy or scary.  Even the violence feels somewhat sanitized and bland, not to mention the general silliness of the whole thing.  Still it wasn’t as if the original films where any bastion of high end writing so perhaps the remake is still in line with the older films.

C+