Last weekend, I (Kendra) took Watson down to City Centre to see a movie. We were too late in the day to see Sherman and Mr. Peabody (his 1st choice), so we saw his 2nd choice - The Lego Movie. We have been reading and hearing rave reviews of this movie from kids and parents alike. In fact, all of Watson's friends here have already seen it (some more than once). However, based on the trailer, I wasn't sure that Watson would be that excited about it. I should have listened to my gut!
First off, I think that both Watson and I found a lot of the movie pretty slow in places... Secondly, most of the jokes were not at the level of children, but were for the adults in the audience. Since when did kids movies become all about the parents? Of course, I like to be entertained as much as the next person. However, I don't think that the level of the plot and the humor should be so high that the kids don't get it... Even the main premise, which was good (don't follow the instructions but be creative (ironic message since following the directions is what makes that company so much money)), was pretty obscure. I am quite sure that most of the kids at the movie did not "get it". Finally, and most important in my mind as well as the main reason why Watson didn't enjoy the movie was its violence level. It is rated U for universal and at the beginning it said that it contained mild and infrequent fantasy violence. Really? In my mind, regardless of whether it is humans, cartoons of humans, or legos of humans, violence is violence. And, we both found that movie to be quite violent! So, why is it that soooo many people are raving about this movie? I'm really not sure...
Watson, being the sensitive guy that he is, came out of the theatre all out of sorts. We walked to the bus stop and talked about the movie. I asked him what he thought and he told me he didn't much like it. I agreed and asked him why he thought most of his friends seemed to like it and he said he didn't know. I asked him if he would tell his friends that he didn't like it and he said yes. I responded telling him that it was alright to just tell his friends that it was "ok" if they asked so that he wouldn't hurt their feelings if they really liked it. But, I was pretty proud of his staunch response! Unfortunately, Watson was so keyed up from the movie's violence that when we were playing while waiting for the bus, he had a meltdown. I've noticed that he has meltdowns when he is either physically or emotionally tired (or both) and that violence or competition is one of the things that often brings on an episode like this. I was kicking myself for not listening to my instincts and avoiding the movie altogether. But, on the other hand, I think that it might be socially important for Watson to see something that is SO popular with his friends. Oh well, at least I feel more confident about my intuition! And, the next movie to be released that he really wants to see is sure to be a winner - Rio 2!
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