Onward Review

I've seen a good majority of Pixar's movies. From what I've seen, I'd say they were good to excellent depending on what was in question. Onward might be the first one that I was not impressed with watching. Since the first Cars, I haven't seen too many films from this company outside of sequels. This came off as an overhyped movie and I'll be in the minority of this by saying this was disappointing.

Here's the thing. It has an interesting concept, which is something Pixar excels at in order to hook an audience in. The film is about magic. Long ago, it was used for many things. But as technology progressed, it became useless. In the modern world, brothers Ian and Barley are given a gift granted to them from their late father. A magic staff is handed down to them along with a spell to bring him back for a day. Ian winds up bringing him back to life, but only the lower half of his body. This spell only lasts 24 hours, and this awkward teen goes on a quest with his slacker brother to get a gem that would hopefully bring them their dad.

This is a road trip film for most of it. I would also say this is borderline a dramedy. I was expecting more humorous stuff judging by the trailers. But it's a depressing movie and one that has a lot of teen cliche moments. I wouldn't understand losing a direct family member (parents, siblings), but I have friends that have. I'm sure there's a message and meaning behind the point of the movie, but the biggest problem is the first half of the film. Nothing stood out and I found it rather dull and boring. And even if the second half was good, which it was, it's first half drags the entire film.

What's sad is that the fantasy moments are eye candy and under utilized. If there is ever plans for a sequel, they should expand more on the magic. The performances from the main leads are wasted on it. It's sad, because Tom Holland and Chris Pratt could be like actual brothers with the relationship Ian and Barley have throughout it with their acting. I did find Pratt to be a little annoying in some spots and Holland, although good, comes off as that nerdy cliche. The rest of the cast is solid enough and provide more of the humorous side of the film.

Even with the coronavirus invading the world, I still would not recommend Onward to anyone. Nothing about the first half helped and the second half can't do enough to save it.

Score: 5 out of 10