This is simultaneously visually spectacular and a bit of a plotting mess. The story of a girl thrown into interstellar adventure to find her long-lost father, this feels in outline reasonably generic, and certainly adding Oprah as one of three inspirational guide figures gives a bit of self-empowerment overload. But Ava Devernay's film also combines some lipsmacking visuals and a perforance that creeps in on you from lead Storm Reid - starting as a somewhat generic overly-put-upon teen lead, she grows into something far more interesting. I do wish the setup was better done (in particular there is a section of dialogue between two teachers that feels laboured beyond belief) but at the same time I can't argue that Ava Devernay has a good eye for surrealist, trippy visual concepts.
It's a pity this isn't flatout excellent because Disney has somewhat fallen into the uncomfortable spot of delivering only in strictly defined franchise models, and this is, whatever else it might be, certainly not a franchise. It's an experiment that only half works, but the half that does works is like very little else I've ever seen. So it may be worth it anyway.
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