I love kids movies. I have two children and have always enjoyed watching their movies along with them. I worked in an elementary school for several years and have seen a plethora of fantastic children movies.
But this movie was terrible. In fact, I rate it as the worst movie I have ever seen. Why? Several reasons...
1. It is a blatant attempt to ride the coattails of ET and similar alien-friend movies from this era. Unfortunately, I think it sat on the wrong coat.
2. The film used pity tactics to attempt to draw in your emotions rather than effective writing or visuals, and those tactics failed miserably.
3. The special effects were horrible even for the time. I can relate to chronological limitations in relation to special effects and can respect a film that meets or exceeds the effects available for it's time. But there were plenty of good sfx films out by the time this film was released and this one simply didn't bother with any sfx budget.
4. The dialog was awful. This is an example where no amount of good acting could compensate for the dialog.
5. In relation to reason #4, there was no good acting to attempt to overcome the bad dialog. That might not even be the blame of the actors themselves, as there are simply times when you can't rise above your surroundings.
6. The cheesy marketing and glaring promotions within the film take an already terrible movie and turn it into a true mockery.
7. I have seen B-Movies that were more enjoyable to watch. However, out of morbid curiosity, I watched this film from opening to closing credits.
From start to finish, from effects to acting, from dialog to directing - Mac and Me is a very bad movie. Just because a film is made for children does not mean it's OK to be terrible. Children's films, just like any genre, have a majority of moderately enjoyable films, a number of gems, and their share of stinkers. This is a true stinker.
And yes - my children thought this movie was horrible, too.
But this movie was terrible. In fact, I rate it as the worst movie I have ever seen. Why? Several reasons...
1. It is a blatant attempt to ride the coattails of ET and similar alien-friend movies from this era. Unfortunately, I think it sat on the wrong coat.
2. The film used pity tactics to attempt to draw in your emotions rather than effective writing or visuals, and those tactics failed miserably.
3. The special effects were horrible even for the time. I can relate to chronological limitations in relation to special effects and can respect a film that meets or exceeds the effects available for it's time. But there were plenty of good sfx films out by the time this film was released and this one simply didn't bother with any sfx budget.
4. The dialog was awful. This is an example where no amount of good acting could compensate for the dialog.
5. In relation to reason #4, there was no good acting to attempt to overcome the bad dialog. That might not even be the blame of the actors themselves, as there are simply times when you can't rise above your surroundings.
6. The cheesy marketing and glaring promotions within the film take an already terrible movie and turn it into a true mockery.
7. I have seen B-Movies that were more enjoyable to watch. However, out of morbid curiosity, I watched this film from opening to closing credits.
From start to finish, from effects to acting, from dialog to directing - Mac and Me is a very bad movie. Just because a film is made for children does not mean it's OK to be terrible. Children's films, just like any genre, have a majority of moderately enjoyable films, a number of gems, and their share of stinkers. This is a true stinker.
And yes - my children thought this movie was horrible, too.