168 out of 176 people found the following review helpful:

Forest Gump companion movie.

OttoParts from , 18th December, 2008

If you're the mood for a Forest Gump kind of movie, then this film will be perfect for you.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is penned by Forest Gump scribe Eric Roth and it shows. This film has exactly the same feel and sentiment as the Robert Zemeckis directed movie. The story is comes across in exactly the same way with the explanation heavy voice-over and the main character, Benjamin, literally in the eye of the storm of some of the most significant events of the 20th century.

Pitt and Blanchett are ideally cast. They breeze through the material. But it's more about good casting than it is career defing performances from these two. There is unanimous talent from all of the supporting cast too.

Benjamin Button is an obvious break away for director David Fincher, someone who has formed a near flawless career with some much darker material. My personal hope is that this is his 'one for the studio' film that would give him further license to carry on making films like Zodiac, Se7en and The Game. Though he's created yet another outstanding film with Bejamin Button, I feel there are a few other directors who would have made near enough the same film with this material... Oh well, at least it wasn't made by Ron Howard...

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73 out of 75 people found the following review helpful:

Yeah, it's ok...

A Customer from London, 24th February, 2009

It's long and I had a numb bottom by the end of it. That's the thing that stayed with me after leaving the cinema, above all else. The film itself is ok. Brad and Kate are good, but not particularly stretched by their roles - the CGI does most of that. The story is pretty predictable after the initial exposition. I found it a little annoying the extent to which the film makers tried to yank at the audience's heart strings throughout - the comparison to Forrest Gump has been made and it's that level of saccharine sweetness that you get here: something incredibly happy happens, then something incredibly sad happens, then something incredibly happy happens... The poor characters must be emotionally exhausted. You just want something average to happen to them e.g. Brad goes out to buy a sandwich and nothing good or bad happens, other than that the sandwich is satisfactory. Worth a watch, if you've already been to see Slumdog Millionaire and Milk and are at a loose end.

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47 out of 53 people found the following review helpful:

Two acting greats, brilliantly cast around predictable plot

wreeve from , 9th January, 2009

I wasn't that excited to see this movie but there wasn't anything better on at my local cinema. The trailer suggested a bizarre but predictable plot, and it's length - over 2.5 hrs - put me off too. My wife and sister-in-law felt the same. But we all were pleasantly surprised by a beautifully executed movie. The plot is as simple as the trailer and one line synopsis suggests. Boy (who happens to be aging in reverse) meets girl (who ages normally). Or, in a little more detail (but no spoilers), little girl meets 'old man'; at some point they 'equilibriate'; then old lady deals with.... but I won't give anything away. However, several things were surprisingly delightful. The CGI/make-up, for one thing, is absolutely unbelievable. We were all stunned at how convincing the aging/youthing processes were on all the actors affected. Now, you might regard Brad Pitt as perfect just the way he is, without wanting to see him go thru the seven ages of man. But his performance at each age is terrific and we are reminded once again (Fight Club, Twelve Monkeys etc) how he is not just a pretty face. Kate Blanchette likewise is absolutely captivating. And their on-screen chemistry (or make-up, or whatever it is) was tear-jerking. This movie is not Fight Club or Elizabeth but that's not to denigrate it or the lead performances. The supporting cast are great too - particularly Julia Ormond and the 'black mama' (not sure who she is). If you're looking for a twist, or a Dorian Gray-like quasi thriller/horror, this is not your movie. If you're looking for some romantic drama, and don't mind a touch of the unusual, this is your movie. Or if you just want some traditional escapism with a simple story, beautifully told and tellingly acted, watch this film.

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33 out of 34 people found the following review helpful:

And the Oscar goes to.....the most pointless movie of all time!

A Customer from SW London, 17th June, 2009

I cannot believe this dreary drivel got 3 Oscars! It wasn't for acting but in all fairness this is the kind of film you subject insomniacs to to get some sleep!!!There was nothing at all interesting about Benjamin character, despite the story coming from Fitzgerald warped little mind, some stories(like this one) don't need to be written and certainly not made into a movie. Sticking Cate,Tilda and Brad in the movie (no matter how good looking or good an actors they might be) surprisingly didn't create an miracles, as there is only so much an actor can do. The trailer was a bore, but if you're looking for the full blown out intense boredom treatment then by all means watch the movie till the end. It didn't help that the pace was slow and pedantic and so self indulgent it made me cringe!So what if Benjamin is aging backwards, the truth is you can't base a movie on that alone! Seriously,give this overhyped Hollywood nonsense of a movie a huge miss. It has no message, it has no point, the characters in the movie are dull and lacklustre and watching this was less joyful for me than watching the most boring documentary ever.Life's too short to watch cringworthy films like this.AVOID!!!

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Amazing and OK

SJ007 from , 17th March, 2010

Amazing special effects and acting. Brad is just as gorgeous as usual and Kate equally so. The film was quite long and sad. A tear was shed at the end but I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to! Good film! Well - OK.

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Beautiful Love Story

K from PRESTON, LANCS, 16th March, 2010

Loved this film. The acting,script and atmosphere were all fantastic. Viewing life through an old mans young eyes was touchingly amusing and veiwing life through a young mans old eyes was incredibly moving. A funny/sad Curious love story with a twist. Highly recommended.

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Gump's long lost cousin?

Barnseytheclaret from , 15th March, 2010

Have to agree with a previous reviewer: this has a very Forrest Gump-esque feel to it, as I kept (probably annoyingly) pointing out to my wife. There's even a bit about being on a boat, too. That said, it is an enjoyable film, and it raises some interesting 'eternal youth' type questions: seeing your loved ones pass on whilst you stay behind - in this case getting younger! Some nice performances in support of Mr.Pitt - but you would expect nothing less from the undoubted talents of Blanchett and Swinton. Bright as buttons! :-)

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just a bad story

A Customer from UK, 14th March, 2010

looks good but thats about it,they seemed to forget a film is ment to have a story as well not just looks.

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