With the 1947 original being a big success lead by the amazing Danny Kaye. I agreed that in terms of the visuals, this type of story should be made now, but not with Ben Stiller.
After seeing the second trailer, I was instantly proved wrong. Not only did the visuals looking incredible, the music and performances forced me to take a step back. After that, it was probably the most trailer I had watched the most this year.
When the end credits rolled, I had a big smile on my face and took everything on board. Stiller definitely found the message of this short-story and made the most of it on the big screen.
It is all living life to the full, being in the moment and having the courage to stop daydreaming and start living. To be honest, that should be more than enough to get you to watch this.
The most impressive part is the visuals. It would not to different from a David Attenborough documentary, especially in the second half of the film.
Stiller leads the performances. He never takes him seriously and was great portraying a lost soul who is looking to find a way to start living. Kristen Wiig is solid as the lead female and bounces off Stiller well enough to be cared. Despite not being on screen much, Sean Penn only needed one scene to create a presence that won me and quite a few others over. Final mention goes to Adam Scott who leads the villain in all of this. His arrogance and slime-ball presence was great to see and it made a great character for Stiller's to face off with.
Only one scene I would put as a negative. I won't say exactly what it is, but it was one of Walter's daydreams. It was a bit silly for me, but not enough to derail the full experience.
In the end, I enjoyed it from start to finish. Ben Stiller has re-branded this 1940's classic and made even more of a success.
Everything about it is great. The stunning visuals of Greenland and Iceland, the performances, the style of comedy and it makes you really want to be Walter Mitty.
The story really wants to mirror the films tagline 'stop dreaming, and start living'. I hope this is the beginning of something great for Ben Stiller and he keeps making films like this one. With the right amount of comedy and heart-warming moments, Stillers shows how great life is. Quite a joy to watch on Boxing Day and could well end up in my top 10 films of the year.
Rating: 8/10
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