Maggie

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Abigail Breslin, Joely Richardson, Douglas M. Griffin
Directed by: Henry Hobson
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
2015

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A father (Arnold Schwarzenegger) struggles with the idea of his daughter (Abigail Breslin) slowly succumbing to a zombie bite.

Review:

Tim: When you say that Arnold Schwarzenegger is making a zombie movie, I'm sure certain thoughts immediately jump into your mind. Maggie is likely as far away from what you'd expect as you can get. This is an artistic zombie movie, a slow burn rather than one filled with explosions. I love the idea of Schwarzenegger doing the opposite of what you'd expect, but I just wish I liked the movie more. It's fine, but it's ultimately too forgettable.

One of the biggest complaints I have is the sluggish pace of the story. Now, you could try and criticize me for needing explosions every few minutes, but that couldn't be further from the truth. I love the cinematography here and I enjoyed (to an extent) director Henry Hobson's willingness to linger on a moment. A significant amount of time is spent not on the cast but on the surrounding landscape, animals, and things. It gives the movie this artistic sense of visually exploring the world without putting a huge emphasis on movement forward. The problem is that Hobson tends to linger a bit too long, which gives the plot a glacial pace. I'm not saying this was the wrong technique, but there is a balance. Too much time lingering doesn't give us enough time with the characters.

That's my second complaint- Schwarzenegger and Breslin don't get enough screen time. It seems an odd complaint about your two main stars, but that's the case here. Schwarzenegger looked the part and actually gave a surprisingly powerful, restrained performance. We needed more time with him, more opportunity for him to show he has actual talent as an actor. He disappears for a long stretch where we're focused on Breslin and I actually missed his presence. Breslin gives a strong performance, too, but we needed more time with her and Schwarzenegger. They have a few great scenes together, but far, far too few. Due to this, I was interested in Schwarzenegger's character and interested in Breslin's, but I never felt completely comfortable with them as father and daughter. I wish Hobson would have cut some of the mood setting shots and given more time to his leads. What this gives us is a beautiful film to look at, but one whose emotional core has been blunted and restrained.

I will say that Hobson creates some nice moments throughout the film. We don't often see zombie movies approach the subject matter like this. It's really just treated as an incurable disease, although dying only creates a more dangerous situation for those left living. It was interesting to consider some of the less obvious impacts something like this would make on the world. I loved the way the film clarified the symptoms early on- that gave us the heads up to diagnose Breslin's character, and created some nice tense moments. Speaking of those, there's an incredible scene towards the end involving Schwarzenegger sleeping a chair. I won't say much more, but it's well shot and remarkable, and one of my favorite scenes of the film.

I love that Schwarzenegger took a different approach by doing Maggie. His career hasn't returned to pre-Governator levels, so he needs to take some chances. Unfortunately, this one didn't pan out.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: World War Z, The Last Stand