Steven Spielberg's return to family-friendly fantasy works well overall, but the somewhat flat CGI and the general tweeness gets a little bit too much in places.
Roald Dahl's work is something a lot of people have an emotional bond with, making adaptations inherently complicated. How do you blend the expectations of so many with the need to tell an original story with a fresh approach? Can it even be done? If anyone's going to give it a decent shot, it's Steven Spielberg.
The BFG more or less follows the story of the original. Sophie (Ruby Barnhill) is a young orphan who's taken by a giant (Mark Rylance) in the middle of the night when she spots him skulking around the streets of London. Initially frightened at first, Sophie soon realises that that giant is actually a big, friendly giant - the BFG of the title - and is actually trying to help people by collecting dreams and delivering them via a magical trumpet. However, Giant Country is also home to a small group of man-eating giants, led by Bloodbottler (Bill Hader) and Fleshlumpeater (Jemaine Clement), who are planning to go on a hunt for children in the real world. Sophie concocts a daring plan that'll both rescue the children of the world and will also keep the BFG safe from the other, meaner giants.
The chemistry between Barnhill and Rylance forms the basis of the film and it's her belief in all of it that really sells you on it. While the CGI used for Rylance might be a little off in places and somewhat dated-looking, Rylance's performance shines through with all of his charisma and warmth intact. It's worth noting that The BFG was in pre-production for almost thirty years, with a lot of the delay held down by the fact that a suitable actor couldn't be found. Of course, you couldn't imagine anyone other than Rylance in the role - even Robin Williams, who was reportedly considered for a time. The villains, Hader and Clement, both give enough gusto to the role and that it's played for fun - as it should be. Where the film begins to falter somewhat is when it goes into the third act with a slightly odd scene involving a fart-making juice and the Queen of England, played by Penelope Wilton.
Melissa Mathison's script perfectly captures the essence of Roald Dahl, all whimsical, low-brow humour - as mentioned earlier with the fart-making juice. However, Mathison also gives it a huge amount of heart and deepness to it. There's a beautiful little moment when Sophie discovers precisely why the BFG is so careful to hide young Sophie away and why the other giants are so terrifying - almost to the point that you begin to think it might too much for children to cope with. However, that's classic Spielberg. It's probably a bit too scary for its own good in places, but that's how it is. The problem with The BFG, however, is that it can become a little too sickly sweet in places - almost to the point where it's almost unbearably twee. Not only that, there's a sense when you're watching it that that the script was essentially left in a drawer for twenty years without a second look, both in terms of some of the references and the general mechanics of the story.
However, that's a minor complaint. While it might not be up there with Spielberg's more noted works, The BFG is still a great little film with a huge amount of charm going for it. Mark Rylance's charisma and Ruby Barnhill's innocence makes for a delightful fantasy adventure that'll make for an entertaining Sunday matinee.