The Last Mimzy (2007)

I saw this with my 2 daughters - 10 and 7, and it was for kids just their age. My older daughter's heart was pounding so hard in the middle that when she clutched my hand I could feel it on my upper arm. She came out of it emotionally exhausted, but very very happy.

The only film I can relate this to is "Contact". This film makes no assumptions about your political, religious, or spiritual beliefs, but presents something for everyone. The story is enjoyable (although a tiny bit long for the age group), and the premise is something that the children can understand and get into. The acting was par for a children's film - not as bad as Tim Allen in "Shaggy Dog", but still not on the level of an adult's film. Some adults may frown during the performances - but it has nothing to do with the story.

The ending was drawn out and predictable - I kept telling my daughter that it was going to be 'ok', and knew it would be. But the ride was very fun and enthralling - a movie my daughter will ask me to get for her and she will watch over and over again.

Fmovies: This was a very well written film about two young and quite brilliant children. They have a frantic mother and a somewhat aloof father. But the story ties them together well. If you are expecting this to be a simple film for the young,you will be disappointed. My children loved it. The mathematics and science are brilliantly weaved into this story of everything good and pure about us, or rather, what could be. E.T. for a new generation? It really could be. I have seen where some have said that children might be a bit bored with this movie. The theater I was in wasn't full of bored children. The children I saw were on the edge of their seats; as was I.

I have never read the book, which this movie is based upon, so I have no point-of-reference for comparison.

All in all I thought this movie was perfectly appropriate for families, although from reading reviewers comments on another website, you'd think 'The Last Mimzy' had some kind of subversive plot. One parent said it was 'liberal doctrine' and another focused on the fact that it shows people who actually believe in Eastern philosophies and practices. Wow! You mean there are other religions besides Christianity out there?! Then they must be liberal in nature and are trying to wreak havoc on the traditional, family-values we all hold so dear.

I am a Christian and had absolutely no problems with the ideas proposed by other points-of-view. Maybe you might have to walk out of the theater with some explanations of how other cultures see the world and their place in it, but that's part of the magic of this movie. 'The Last Mimzy' was by no means 'liberal doctrine' unless you think showing a different perspective as a threat.

Personally, the weakest parts of the movie for me was the uneven direction and the point where I asked "Why is Michael Clark Duncan in this film?" He didn't really add much to it. The kids were believable and Timothy Hutton did a decent job. The effects were all-in-all low-key, but necessary. Before you judge this film for showing the mysteries of Eastern beliefs, try watching it with an open mind. It didn't give me the same vibe as 'E.T.' or 'Close Encounters', but it did a good job as being an entertaining family film.

The Last Mimzy fmovies. Very good adaptation of a classic sf short story, "Mimsy Were the Borogoves" by Lewis Padgett (pseudonym used by sf authors and spouses Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore). Some changes, of course, updating it to present time (story was originally set in 1942, published in 1943), expanding the story a bit -- but overall, nice work.

I thought the kids' interactions were very true to life -- sniping and fussing at each other and at the same time being close and loving. Especially liked the little girl's interaction with Mimzy, dressing it in doll clothes, having a tea party.

Very enjoyable.

The Last Mimzy doesn't pander needlessly to its core audience, but at the same time it also has a good accomplishment in that it also has an appeal to adults, or at least those that have passed that age of adolescence and look back on childhood with levels of nostalgia and relief that it's over. It delights as well as gives special meaning to putting a level of belief in what is unknown at a time when the rest of the world relies on hard facts and rigid control of personality. It also puts ET to a certain test: can the little creature from another world that needs to get home kind of story hold up to quasi (actually precise) psychedelia? Pink Floyd shirts and Roger Waters aside, this may even have a secret appeal to stoners just as much as your little boy or girl at the movie theater, who will obviously see it in a different life, that of light, efficient irreverence and lots of neat special effects.

'Mimzy' tells the story of a boy and a girl, Noah and Emma, both at least under the age of 10 but old enough to be articulate enough as well as appropriately secretive in the fantasy they hold paramount, who come upon a strange rock from the ocean. In it lies a bunch of fragments, and, oddly enough, a stuffed, fluffy, cute bunny named Mimzy, who Emma takes as her most important possession. Noah meanwhile becomes transfixed with the new powers that soon come to him via these rocks: he can hear the smallest insect, and is transfixed by obscure designs. This strikes up the attention of his parents as well as his science teacher (Rainn Wilson), who also knows of the symbols Noah makes up. But after a power outage- it also happens to be a generator that Noah conjures- gets the attention of the government, not sure what exactly is going on. Emma has a problem, however, in that Mimzy, her closest confidant and "teacher" is dying and needs to get back home. That's the basic story, anyway, as there are little ins and outs as the story goes on, including a great product placement for Sprite, and a montage-free example of each child's new abilities.

Some of this may be a little preposterous, even goofy, but Bob Shaye and his team bypass the obvious but still perilous pit-falls for filmmakers investing themselves into children's movies. No truly stupid gags, nothing with bodily excretions, none of that really, and if anything the humor, of a little wild and over-the-top in variety (some of which I was laughing at alone while the other kids were silent), is innocent and sort of knowing of the split of imagination between children and adults. The two kids are also very good at playing their parts, with Wryn as Emma very adept at being vulnerable and smart, and O'Neil being almost too close to looking like the boy Elliot in ET, however not without his own strengths. Shaye sometimes lets his control slip in just simple things like cinematography or making a fitting enough ending (too many futuristic hippies me thinks), and the goofiness does teeter on becoming a little too much. But I responded more to how the power of taking a long repeated idea, of kids becoming changed by outside forces in a very real world, and there being a sort of little twist to it all. It's not just about making friends and gaining in some alien intelligence, but in figuring the significance of the future, however weird it might be. It's definitely the finest children's movie, non-animated, to come out so far in 2007. 7.5/10

I took my daughter to a screening and was very surprised at how good this movie was. My 13 year old could not decide whether she liked this movie or the Bridge to Terabithia better. There was never a dull moment. We were both very entertained. It was definitely worth the price of admission. The younger kids (10 and under) did not seem to enjoy it as much as the adults and teens though. If you are planning on seeing this, stay away from trailers. You'll have a much better experience the less you know about it. During the last 10 minutes, the reel or film broke. You should have heard the uproar that caused. Everyone in the theater waited impatiently while the projectionist repaired the film. I'll probably go see this again when it does open.