My wife and I don't go out to the movies very often. While talking to a friend last week or the week before, I pointed out the last movie we saw in a movie theater. It was the 2015 awkward-to-watch-in-a-theater Fifty Shades of Grey. The senior couple behind us obviously didn't know what movie they paid to get into and left soon after the film started, and there were teen-aged kids all around the theater. It was just an overall awkward film for many in the theater to watch in a group setting.
Today we ventured out to see Missing Link. We went to a new AMC Theater which is much closer to our house than any other theater in the area. It was actually the first time I have been to one of those new theaters with big cushy reclining seats. It was great! No sharing armrests, no narrow aisle in front of you where you can barely move your legs around easily for 90 minutes, and big giant cup holders. I think there was maybe ten other people in the whole theater. That was kind of odd as the movie started at 4:55PM on a Saturday. It was nice and peaceful, though.
https://youtu.be/vM5VC7nCv_Y
https://youtu.be/sNBms9je700
Now that all the previews are over, let's get to the movie.
Let's start with what I liked about the movie. It was filmed using real stop-motion animation. The sets, costumes, puppets, and facial expressions created to make this happen were amazing. As you will learn watching the Behind the Scenes video below, they made 106,000 different facial expressions to make this film. Technology is a wonderful thing. They used 3-D printing to mass-produce the many needed pieces that come together for something that is indeed great to behold.
https://youtu.be/Q0igKpJscsA
The voice cast was somewhat perfectly chosen for these particular characters. The main characters Sir Lionel Frost, voiced by Hugh Jackman, Adelina Fortnight voiced by Zoe Saldana, and of course Mr. Link voiced by Zach Galifinakis worked so well together. The highlight was definitely Galifinakis as Mr. Link. I really don't think there was another voice out there that could have done it better. His timing and tones were so great for the role.
Finally, there were lots of great laughs in the film, and overall it was an enjoyable movie. Just whatever you do, DON'T ask about the chicken!
Now for the things that I didn't like. As I just said, there were lots of great laughs in the film. The problem is, you get to see all but maybe two or three of those laughs just from watching the movie trailers. There wasn't really much plot to the film either. I know it is meant for kids, but if you put in the type of humor that is going to make adults want to see the film, perhaps you should add a little bit more to the plot. Finally, there were many parts of the film that were very rushed. I understand you are trying to travel from Washington state in the United States to the Himalayan Mountains, but sometimes having Sir Lionel Frost pull out a map and mark off thousands of miles at a time just doesn't work.
For those who are thinking about going to see it, I would say it is probably worth paying to see it in the theater, but mainly if you are interested in seeing the great stop-motion they created. You might leave a bit let down, like we were, if you were expecting more laughs or more plot than you can get from watching two three-minute trailers. For most, though, I think you will be fine waiting for it to come out on whatever streaming service you might use.
I think I would rate it a 3.5 - 4 out of 5, but mainly because I like the stop-motion animation, casting, and the laughs, even if most can be had in just the trailers.