Here Review

I was very intrigued when watching the for Here. I know Robert Zemeckus is a bit of a hit or miss director for some, but I like all the movies I've seen by him. All two of them. Yes one of them is Polar Express, I was 5 when that movie came out and liked the book. Anyway, I like the idea that the trailer was showing off, so I was looking forward to this movie.

What's The Movie About?

A single physical spot throughout all of time. Or at least from the K-T Extinction to the Covid pandemic. 

What I Like.

The premise I think works! I think the cutting between different eras of time works, and the story being told in a mixed up order works much better than it did in We Live In Time. (Although the stories of the individuals focused on are in order, they just cut through various time periods in a mixed up order.) My favorite characters were the couple that invent the Lazy-Boy, I just like couples who are all over each other no matter what is happening. Tom Hanks and Robin Wright are the main focus of the movie, which is why they are all over the marketing, and I thought they both did a great job. Maybe not surprising since they both have worked with each other and Zemeckis before, especially Hanks, but still credit where it is due. I was pleasantly surprised by the prevalence of the Native American couple. I was also surprised that Ben Franklin is in the movie! Sure, it's a little silly and coincidental, but it's fun! What's also fun is the cinematography. There's a ton of shot in shot uh... shots. What I mean is that they will blend the action from different eras via split screen or sectioning off a portion of the screen to transition to the other time period. There's also a kinda crazy shot where the modern couple are moving a wardrobe in front of the camera, and they film what's on the mirror which is a room you obviously haven't seen for the rest of the movie. But then the mirror transitions to a previous time and plays out in the mirror! I thought it was cool. 

What I Didn't Like.

Sometimes the CGI is rough. The de-aging mostly works because they keep people away from the camera for the most part, but there's one particular part where Robin Wright is standing right in front of the camera and they do a fade where she ages 20 years in a second and it's... Not great. Not to mention that hummingbird, bleh. Also, the acting is hit and miss. Since there's no close ups, all the actors have to do more flourishes in their movements and more expressive voices, much like actors in a stage play would do it. It works for half the cast, like Tom Hanks, and doesn't really for the other half, like Paul Bettany. 

Final Summation.

Here is... An experience. An experience I ultimately enjoyed, but my knife twist in this review is I don't know Here is an experience that everyone needs to see.  While it's filmmaking in ambitious, the plot is a bit of arty Americana dribble that I don't think is going to work for everyone. But I watched this movie the day after the US election, right? Seeing commonality between people across almost all of human history, dealing with similar issues and dealing the with the same emotions... That was something I needed to see.