Pete’s Dragon

Grade: C+

Writer/director David Lowery’s remake of Pete’s Dragon is adequate, and will be enjoyed by most, if not necessarily by me. The best part of the movie is the soundtrack, which boasts some mighty lovely songs, any one of a handful of which I’d love to see on nomination lists come awards season. Viewing the film, though, I frequently found myself checking out and making a mental list of other stories it seems to borrow elements from. Off the top of my head, I was reminded of ET, Beauty and the Beast, The Jungle Book, King Kong, and of course, Peter Paul and Mary’s song “Puff, the Magic Dragon.” The cast has a couple of familiar faces: Bryce Dallas Howard is always a welcome and versatile presence, Robert Redford plays a down-home Ned Flandersish grandfather type, who is surprisingly nonchalant in situations of extremely high stakes, as if it’s another typical day at the office, and I can’t help but keep expecting Wes Bentley to chime in with “I’m not obsessing – I’m just curious” every time I see him. There is also a fairly one-dimensional villain character, who we sense will need to have some big conversations with Bentley’s character after all is said and done. Those hypothetical conversations would be infinitely more interesting to see than anything we do witness in this Pete’s Dragon. This isn’t a must-see, or even a should-see. I’d call it a “if you see it, you’d probably like it okay.” Or as I like to say: nothing I need to see again.
Grade: C+