John Krasinski’s ‘IF’ Receives Mixed Reviews, but the Audiences Love It!
John Krasinski’s new feature, IF, finally premiered on May 17, 2024 and audiences around the world are able to experience the movie and form their opinions, as well as share them with others. The movie is a live-action animated fantasy comedy that targets the youngest of viewers, and based on the initial reactions from the audiences, the film has succeeded in doing that. On the other hand, the critics aren’t that impressed, as the official reviews don’t share the enthusiasm of the audiences.
The movie is actually a story about imaginary friends (the IF in the title is an acronym), and it features an ensemble cast consisting of Cailey Fleming, Ryan Reynolds, Krasinski, Fiona Shaw, Alan Kim, and Liza Colón-Zayas, along with the voices of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Louis Gossett Jr., and Steve Carell.
The movie has a solid 84% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, as well as an “A” CinemaScore grade. On Metacritic, the critics have given it an average score of 46/100, indicating mixed opinions. This is in line with the critics’ scores on Rotten Tomatoes, where the movie is currently Rotten with 50% positive reviews. The critical consensus on the site reads: “A sweet ode to rediscovering one’s inner child, IF largely works as old-fashioned family entertainment despite an occasionally unfocused and unnecessarily complicated plot.”
And while the critics agree that the movie does everything it needs to in terms of creating a proper family-friendly movie targeted at the youngest of audiences, it fails in several important aspects. Most of the critics focused on the film’s lack of originality, as well as the similarities between the popular animated series Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, which was shown on Cartoon Network. On top of that, some of the critics noted that the pacing was problematic and that the film lacked a proper narrative focus.
From what we can conclude, the film does have its strong points and the youngest viewers will definitely enjoy it. Older viewers will have to not think about it too much and simply enjoy the friendly tone of the movie and Krasinski’s imagination. But, the movie lacks depth and from what we could deduce, it is a relatively unoriginal take on the genre that lacks a proper story that will satisfy everyone.
In case you’re not completely familiar with the movie, here is the official synopsis provided by the distributors:
From writer and director John Krasinski, IF is about a girl who discovers that she can see everyone’s imaginary friends — and what she does with that superpower — as she embarks on a magical adventure to reconnect forgotten IFs with their kids. IF stars Ryan Reynolds, John Krasinski, Cailey Fleming, Fiona Shaw, and the voices of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Louis Gossett Jr. and Steve Carell alongside many more as the wonderfully unique characters that reflect the incredible power of a child’s imagination.
As we have said, the movie is in theaters right now and we’d like to hear your opinions on the film if you’ve seen it!
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