MovieChat Forums > Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) Discussion > Aimless and formulaic - why the love?

Aimless and formulaic - why the love?

posted 8 years ago by aw6921
52 replies | jump to latest

Thrilled so many people liked this film and not here to try and change anyone's mind, BUT I FEEL LIKE I'M TAKING CRAZY PILLS.

Baffled by the almost universal admiration for this. I thought it was a hackneyed rehash, with broad, tired gags that didn't really land, a weak script and - I seem to be alone in this - a pretty unnatural performance from the kid playing Ricky.

Story-wise, there was so little to it, just a series of episodes involving disposable wacky characters. For me the emotional beats just didn't convince in the way that, say, they do in the clueless kid-grizzled curmudgeon dynamic in Bad Santa.

It was beautifully shot and Sam Neil was reliably brilliant, but otherwise a total miss. Again, as someone will no doubt point out this is my opinion, but I'm curious to know whether anyone had a similar reaction...

Or if anyone passionately disagrees with what I've said?

[–] ivanhoe1-1 8 years ago

I do'nt see where the love comes from too. Was quite disapointed.Never got drawn in to it.
Looked like a bad Disney movie.

[–] mformoviesandmore 8 years ago

I suppose every movie has a target audience. The director is known in NZ as being a bit crude and targets an audience who think swearing and 'cheese' merit a giggle.

It also has a very nostalgic feel, and brings to mind movies made back in the '70s. Maybe that was because of the book the story is based on.

I watched for 20 minutes of cringe worthy delivery and then just fast forwarded to see if any of it got better.

Sometime dumb movies can be fun. Not quite sure why this one felt like a complete miss.

[–] Nan00k 8 years ago

You are not alone. I decided to forego my hesitation as I wasn't impressed with Taika Waititi's Eagle vs Shark or WWDitS, despite being a huge Conchords fan, and saw it the other day. Even with expectations set to stun, I kept wondering when it was going to get better. Broad is the word, alas. I powered my way through it just to see Rhys Darby, and ugh... I didn't hate it by any means, but I can't help but see all the praise it's getting and wonder if we saw the same film. ---It wants no straps. - Karlhttp://www.imdb.com/board/bd0000024/nest/158601447

[–] irischertyp 8 years ago

"expectations set to stun" hahaa.. ! nice one :-D

[–] Russellqsi 8 years ago

Eagle vs Shark is awesome. HOW DARE YOU dis this gem of a film?

You shall be forced to wear a helmet whilst kiwis chunk shoes at your head for the ANIMAL PARTY!

Afterwards you will be VANQUISHED in a Video Game Fight contest!!!!

[–] indyj1 8 years ago

I agree. I kept waiting for it to show the brilliant laugh out loud comedy of WWDitS, but instead it was a mild dramedy whose dramatic elements lacked depth and were pretty unoriginal, and whose humorous scenes mostly fell flat.

[–] ethomas97 8 years ago

Yeah, this would probably be hilarious if you're watching it with your mates and a few cans of beer🍺

[–] Beef_Jerky_Time 8 years ago

People can play the pretentious card of it being aimless and formulaic all they wish however the love for artistry of this movie comes down to how it was presented.

I thought it was very well put together and played out a very easy to grasp notion with love and respect for the audience.

Taste may be subjective however the love for this movie shows that those who dislike it are in the minority and with trite, worn out, reasons usually based on regurgitated critiques they've read elsewhere about other movies it shows that the Internet really does let anyone with an rectal sphincter use it as a mouthpiece without fear of being laughed at.

My bestestest funny evah!!! https://vid.me/ToVD

[–] aw6921 8 years ago

Thank you for this very reasonable and considered response to a pretty benign original post.

I thought I did an ok job of specifying what for me didn't work about this film. Your reasons for liking it and dismissing others' opinions are slightly more vague ("very well put together", "played out an easy to grasp notion"), neither of which say much about your response to it.

All up for a nice debate, but what does "execution" (or "artistry" by that matter) mean if it doesn't refer to the elements that I originally mentioned - i.e. dialogue, narrative, characters, performances, visuals.

I'm intrigued, you seem to have a higher understanding of art and cinema than most and I'd love it if you could teach me some of what you know.

[–] Beef_Jerky_Time 8 years ago

I'll not dwell of getting into too much details as I feel, rather like a loose thread on a sweater, once you notice it and start pulling you'll see that you can unravel the entire thing without much effort beyond trying to.

The opening footage of the jungle was of very high quality, it may appear to some to be an advertisement for New Zealand, that just goes to show how powerful that footage was. Then we have the title and crescendo to the music. This is very obviously going to be a child-like story with the heightened over-dramatised energies one would expect from such a story.

Opening scene; kid decked out in Illuminati gangster gear is in the back of a police car travelling, in silence, through the countryside. Car pulls up at house. Woman greets him with immediate affection (Is she his mother? What did he do? Why doesn't he suit the scenery?). It turns out he's being turned over as a foster kid. He's a "Bad egg" who does "Stuff" - job done, this is now in the realms of light-hearted Kiwi comedy and appreciation of it should be switched justly.

However, as a Kiwi comedy, it ramps up a few things. It has a very strong performance from Sam Neill and a very admirable comedic Julian Dennison providing foil to the straight man. A Blues Brothers situation is clamped onto a well known Up storyline (Whilst the original book predates both) and by the end of the feature we've had a coming of age story, finding peace with life, car pile-ups, a dead dog and dead wife and countless references to other films and works of art that anyone not getting obviously has their end so tightly up their rear that they can't take a simple childish story and appreciate it being done well.

Whilst it may play on nostalgia and tickle that bone of inner child we all have, however hard we try and pretend otherwise, within us it should not be disconsidered duly. It states with font and effect within the opening title font and effects (Also associated music) that this was going to be how you'd spend the next two hours.

As for me dismissing others' opinions; once they supply evidence to their 'opinions' I'll happily consider them as such. Thumb sucking and silent navel gazing don't seem to be attributes I'd expect to see on an internet discussion board discussing a relatively new children's movie. I would suggest getting your boaby or titties sucked for a bit, maybe live a little and then come back and see how superior you feel attacking what is essentially a living, breathing baby of cinema based on nothing more than your ego wanting to be different.

Good day.

My bestestest funny evah!!! https://vid.me/ToVD

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Beef_Jerky_Time 8 years ago

It's a pity we can't discuss the movie's merits and shortcomings without getting precious and dishing out some bizarre insults.

I agree 

Your post reads like a mix between a pre-1900 legal proclamation and a foreign language film review that someone's put through a dodgy online translator.

Thanks! 

My bestestest funny evah!!! https://vid.me/ToVD

[–] omendata 8 years ago

I am watching it now but ironically its you who sounds like the pretentious twit!
And thats the problem with the internet i have noticed especially on Twatter, Facenook and other platforms is that there are always those with some inadequacy who seem intent on proving how clever they are or more erudite than others - pretty sad really! You need to get out more dude and stop watching so much Dr Who!

The guy posted his opinion and you come in with all guns blazing - no wonder you have been banned from this site and numerous others if all you want to do is pontificate and troll others! And Mac and Blaine closet lovers in Predator?
Do you smoke Jamaican Old Holborne perchance?

Dodgy online translator lol
To je parada!

Its uncle Frank Kirsty!
Its time to play!

Soon, we will all have special names!

[–] garyamedee 8 years ago

It is intended to be light entertainment and you seem to be expecting Otto Preminger. Take it for what it is.

[–] Li-1 8 years ago

I thought it was decent. As you mentioned, Sam Neill was excellent, and I thought the kid was pretty good, even though he came across more as a sullen, gloomy type than someone who would really go around being an outright delinquent. I thought the first half was solid, but the story started to grow progressively tougher to swallow and it didn't deliver nearly enough laughs to compensate for it. Never felt like they were gone for five months, either. Felt more like a few weeks. The scene with the hogs was surprisingly tense, though. I could see the director making a good killer animal flick someday!

[–] snorreffs 8 years ago

very similar reaction.. to be honest i think many of the actors did a very bad job or just are bad actors, the kid was trying really hard, and i think it is weird that they didnt correct him under the takes? maybe tried.. the child care lady also was pretty lousy. Before you pointed it out i just figured it was because they wanted to make it more "child friendly" but i dont know.

[–] Reznik_T 8 years ago

I'm with you. The first 10-15 minutes was promising with the unusual tone and the humour, although when I first saw Sam Neill interacting with Ricky, I had a suspicion where the story was going to go (the grumpy old man who first rejects the troublesome kid, but then his heart softens, and eventually they become best friends), which I didn't want, but unfortuately I proved to be right.
The film was relying too much on the gag that the kid would say things you wouldn't expect from a 13-year-old, i.e. when he was telling the old guy how he still needed to "process" the loss of his wife. After a while those jokes didn't land for me anymore.
Also, the repeated references to famous contemporary movies (Lord of the Rings, Home Alone, Terminator) seemed like a forced attempt to have something that the audience can resonate to, since there was nothing interesting going on in the movie itself.
Also, about halfway through the film it started to turn into a spoof comedy with the overly dedicated child welfare lady and the dumb policeman, and also with the girl on the horse and her father, who instead of calling the police, started making selfies with Ricky, and acting like a teenage fanboy. But then the movie didn't commit to that direction either, so the tone was all over the place, and you couldn't really tell what you were watching.
After the one hour mark I was pretty much waiting for the movie to end.
It was definitely a letdown. The movie tried to look atypical and original, and it was in a way, but there was no real substance to it. After the first half an hour it became predictable and unfunny, at least for me. I gave it a 5.

[–] Beef_Jerky_Time 8 years ago

Hey Reznik_T, why did you delete your earlier reply to me in this thread?  My bestestest funny evah!!! https://vid.me/ToVD

[–] Reznik_T 8 years ago

I didn't delete anything.

[–] smoogster 8 years ago

With regards to the girl and her dad not calling the police, just making selfies:
1. The selfies was obviously a joke about the obsession people have nowadays about performing this irritating ritual. So often now when something goes wrong, people are more inclined to take a bloody photo of it rather than help.
2. I assume you're ignorant of NZ, NZers, specifically Maori and especially Maori who live in such remote places. They are incredibly generous and will invite you into their homes and offer you whatever food they have (which may not be much at all). They also have great suspicion of police and government. Either they live right on the edge of legality, have been in trouble themselves or have close family who have been in trouble. Often this trouble is unfair or seen as unfair. If they meet someone in trouble with the police they won't immediately assume the police are right and that person is bad. They will be generous, open-minded and non-judgmental.

How the father and daughter treated Ricky is not trite and cliched but exactly how such a family would treat Ricky.

[–] Russellqsi 8 years ago

Bravo! Great explanation for us "non-Kiwis".

One day I hope to visit this magical land of NZ

[–] Reznik_T 8 years ago

Well, I guess then this movie was made for that 3% of the population that's aware of the kiwi culture and social relations.

As far as the selfies go, of course it was a joke, I got that. But that was not the tone of the movie up until that point, and even after that it was on and off. The tone was inconsistent throughout the whole film.

[–] lordDEMAXUS 8 years ago

Well, I guess then this movie was made for that 3% of the population that's aware of the kiwi culture and social relations.

The movie is a movie made by kiwis intended for kiwis. There are other countries and cultures than America or whatever country you live.A russian film would follow russian culture, a korean film is would have korean culture in it, same for every country. You'r comment is just plain ignorant.

But that was not the tone of the movie up until that point, and even after that it was on and off.

It was though, it was a comedy that never took itself seriously. How do you think the old man found the kid, I don't think that people like that foster mother exist, the *beep* that happens in the church scene never happens in real life, etc. The tone of the film was always somewhat fantastical, quirky and weird a lot like a Wes Anderson film.

[–] Acidiic 8 years ago

Completely agree with all you said lord. :)👍

[–] neighturboy 8 years ago

I enjoyed the quirky humor in the same way I liked Raising Arizona, Fargo (movie and TV series), and the 90's TV series Northern Exposure. I knew nothing about the movie when I added it to my Netflix queue, based on the high ratings at dvdsreleasedates.com, and was pleasantly surprised. It took a formula plot and elevated it with a unique tone and acting performances. Time well-spent IMHO .... but evidently not for everyone.