Movie Review: The Last Mimzy

For anyone who's been around the Internet for a while and may have dropped by my site on Geocities way back in the last century, you would know that I kept a pretty exhaustive movie review section going. I thought I would start that up again here on my blog. I don't see near as many movies as I used to, but I can still comment on what I see from time to time.

I believe I will start with a movie I saw this afternoon. My children and I went to see The Last Mimzy. This PG rated film is based on the book "Mimsy Were the Borogoves" by Lewis Padgett and was released by New Line Cinema. At first blush it is a delightful film, full of family values, adventure, drama and sci-fi. The fact that the tagline to the movie says "The future is trying to tell us something" should give you a clue to the nature of the movie.

When I tried to describe the feel of the movie to my wife afterwards, the closest I could come was, "It was like a modern-day Escape From Witch Mountain... but with a different storyline." It was certainly much better than Witch Mountain, but you come away with the same kind of feeling. Mimzy includes all manner of Witch Mountainy things... two kids trying to pull off an incredible feat with the help of "otherworldy" powers, older people who don't understand and try to stop them, glimpses of something out there that's not quite normal, etc.

That's as far as I will go with the comparisons because Mimzy is a much better movie overall and I don't want to drag it down. The plot involves time travel and some great sci-fi. In that regard, it is 90 minutes of engrossing fun. My 11 and 13 yr old were highly involved.

I have two problems with the movie. The first is that it is pretty heavily immersed in New Age thought. You'll find heavy doses of ESP, psychokinesis, Saganism, Indigo Children, Tibetan transcendentalism, reincarnation, and much more. It is woven skillfully into the story and often pays a major part. If you have small kids watching this movie, it will probably require some deprogramming afterwards.

Secondly, on a higher level this movie takes a pretty good swipe at the Bush administration and current policy, as well as giving a boost to Al Gore and his wild hair end-of-the-world theories. Every movie needs an antagonist. Here, they have chosen the Dept. of Homeland Defense. During one scene, Homeland Defense breaks into the house and captures the entire family. When challenged about a warrant, they reply that it is not needed under the Patriot Act. It's a well orchestrated jab at Bush's anti-terror efforts. Thank you Hollywood.

And as far as the Gore stuff is concerned, the basis of the entire movie revolves around the idea that we are polluting ourselves into the end of the world as we know it and something drastic must be done. There's even a scene in a science class that would make Mr. Gore proud.

Overall I would give this 3.5 stars out of 5. The kids will enjoy it. Parents will as well, if you can rise above the baggage.