To summarize my review in advance; The Thinning is a dystopian science fiction movie that has some superb moments, but lacks the wholeness of a truly great or good movie.
To begin, The Thinning is about a dystopian society that takes place sometime after a major global warming event that left the Earth's landmass much too small for it's population. In response, the nations of the world came up with different ways to reduce the growth and size of their population. While other countries resorted to ending the lives of those of old age or limiting family size to one child, the U.S. decided to adopt a program that would only allow the smartest children to survive.
Right after this introduction is where the movie began to fall apart. The backstory for the characters was interesting, however it did not successfully help the viewer "attach" to the story of the reader. When tragedy strikes near the beginning of the movie, it's hard to feel the characters emotions. I did not feel connected with the characters, only amused by them.
There are also many minor details that fail to bring this movie up to par. You have to wonder why many students take a backpack to simply take a test on a notebook. You also wonder why the students (before and after) seem to be either lackadaisical towards the test and it's consequences or extremely anxious. They seem very emotionally inconsistent about the fact that many students will be put to death a mere hour or so after the test.
Another thing I found annoying about this movie was the poorly written script. It was quite simply... simple. There were no memorable lines and everything was quite frankly something you've heard before. I should note something important here... a movie does not need memorable lines; it needs emotionally relevant and imaginatively excellent lines. At many points, the lines were simply "decent," and at more rare parts of the movie, the lines felt like reading the words "good" or "bad" in an English essay.
Now on to some of the things I enjoyed. I enjoyed a few moments where the acting was on par with the importance of the scene. When the students had just taken the test, you can see their anxiety, relief, and unique responses to show their emotions. I also enjoyed the color pallet used in the movie. It was relevant and consistently aided to the intensity of the movie.
The last two things I enjoyed were the camera shots, which were not exceptional, rather simply nice. The editing and music also aided to the importance of the story.
I did enjoy parts of this movie, however these parts were the minority of a more-often-than-not simple and dull movie.
(NOTE: I believe in completely fair reviews. I am against giving 1 or 10 star reviews based on the current rating and my personal belief if it is too high or not. I encourage everyone to have someone check their rating against their thoughts about the movie to see if they align. That is how you should properly rate a movie. Share the word!)
To begin, The Thinning is about a dystopian society that takes place sometime after a major global warming event that left the Earth's landmass much too small for it's population. In response, the nations of the world came up with different ways to reduce the growth and size of their population. While other countries resorted to ending the lives of those of old age or limiting family size to one child, the U.S. decided to adopt a program that would only allow the smartest children to survive.
Right after this introduction is where the movie began to fall apart. The backstory for the characters was interesting, however it did not successfully help the viewer "attach" to the story of the reader. When tragedy strikes near the beginning of the movie, it's hard to feel the characters emotions. I did not feel connected with the characters, only amused by them.
There are also many minor details that fail to bring this movie up to par. You have to wonder why many students take a backpack to simply take a test on a notebook. You also wonder why the students (before and after) seem to be either lackadaisical towards the test and it's consequences or extremely anxious. They seem very emotionally inconsistent about the fact that many students will be put to death a mere hour or so after the test.
Another thing I found annoying about this movie was the poorly written script. It was quite simply... simple. There were no memorable lines and everything was quite frankly something you've heard before. I should note something important here... a movie does not need memorable lines; it needs emotionally relevant and imaginatively excellent lines. At many points, the lines were simply "decent," and at more rare parts of the movie, the lines felt like reading the words "good" or "bad" in an English essay.
Now on to some of the things I enjoyed. I enjoyed a few moments where the acting was on par with the importance of the scene. When the students had just taken the test, you can see their anxiety, relief, and unique responses to show their emotions. I also enjoyed the color pallet used in the movie. It was relevant and consistently aided to the intensity of the movie.
The last two things I enjoyed were the camera shots, which were not exceptional, rather simply nice. The editing and music also aided to the importance of the story.
I did enjoy parts of this movie, however these parts were the minority of a more-often-than-not simple and dull movie.
(NOTE: I believe in completely fair reviews. I am against giving 1 or 10 star reviews based on the current rating and my personal belief if it is too high or not. I encourage everyone to have someone check their rating against their thoughts about the movie to see if they align. That is how you should properly rate a movie. Share the word!)