IF (Imaginary Friends) - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

IF (Imaginary Friends)



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
My boy Jim is making waves for himself outside of The Office! After making a name for himself in the U.S. version of The Office, he’s revamped Jack Ryan, and actually started directing a good bit. To date I’ve seen pretty much everything he’s ever done, including 2016’s dramedy The Hollars and really falling in love with his directorial style in The Quiet Place (still haven’t seen the sequel sad to say). However, IF was the man’s first foray into a charming half animated kids movie, and I was more than curious to see how he would pull it off.

IF (Imaginary Friends) is sort of exactly what you would expect going by the trailers. By that I mean it’s a sweet and endearing story, but one that doesn’t really leave any lasting impact on the viewer. Our film starts out with young Bea (Cailey Fleming) who has recently lost her mother to cancer, and now has to hold on with every last bit of strength she has left when her father (Director/writer John Krasinski) has to go in for an emergency heart surgery. To make it all the more traumatic, it just so happens to be in the same hospital where her mother died.

Staying with her grandmother (Fiona Shaw) Bea starts to question reality a bit. While she’s trying to make do with the crap sandwich that has been handed to her, she soon starts “seeing things”. At first it’s a weird man trying to break into a house across the street, and soon it’s a weird animated character that can NOT be real. Well, turns out it kinda is. Following the mysterious man (Ryan Reynolds) back to the room above her Grandmother’s apartment, she is introduced to Cal (Reynolds) and an entire world full of imaginary friends that he keeps and protects after their humans forget about them in adulthood.

Looking for a bit of a cause, Cal and Bea band together to find homes (or to be more precise, new kids) for the imaginary friends, only to find out that it’s a bit harder than it looks. So now Bea has the bright idea of roping the cynical Cal into a journey reunite the friends back to their OLD kids, all of whom have grown up and moved on with their life (which happens to include Bea’s grandmother it turns out).

As is the case with a lot of these kids films, the story starts out with a bit of a dark twist. Bea has lost so much so early, and now she’s terrified that she’s going to lose her father as well, so you can sort of wink and nod along with the film about how she might be using her own grief and imagination to scrounge up an alternate world to live in (kind of like a lighter Pan’s Labyrinth or Song of the South), but Krasinski dances back and forth over the line, allowing the viewer to really question what is real, and what is fantasy. HOWEVER, the big take away from IF (Imaginary Friends) is that a good idea doesn’t always make a smash hit. Not everything can be Paddington or Song of the South. Krasinki’s first attempt at a family friendly comedy is one that has its heart in the right place, but can’t seem to stick the landing.

The film is host to an absolutely dizzying array of “imaginary friends” all voiced by classic actors like George Clooney, Krasinski’s wife Emily Blunt, Bradley Cooper, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Louis Gossett Jr. (may he RIP) and even Steve Carell. But as I said, fun actors and a great premise DON’T 100% mean you have a sure fire hit on your hands. IF has a bit problem deciding on who it’s really aimed at, and also some pacing issues. On one hand it seems to want to go straight for the kiddy winks, but then transitions over to a much darker “real life” story that feels strangely at odds with the rest of the movie. Also, the story just follows a very rote and well worn path that makes it feel sort of “bland” for some reason. I get that Krasinski was going for a classic “imaginary world” story, but sadly it just doesn’t land on all 4 feet like his previous 3 movies did.




Rating:

Rated PG for thematic elements and mild language.




4K Video: Video:

While IF doesn’t always hit home with the story, it most certainly does take home the gold in regards to picture quality. The look of the film is just about perfect. Shot on digital cameras and given a native 4K master, IF literally dazzles in just about every scene. Whether you’re in the dim and mahogany toned New York apartment where Bea and her grandmother are staying, or whether it’s in the color soaked world of the imaginary friends land, everything looks GORGEOUS. Primary colors are really sharp and well saturated, and really get to show off their stuff when Bea goes down to the home of the make believe friends with Cal. However, I did notice that due to the copious use of CGI, it sometimes felt a bit “fake” in that world (haha, yes, I know the irony). The seams between the CGI realm and the real world were pretty easy to spot if you know what I mean. However, the Dolby Vision grading really makes it feel so rich and vibrant that I can’t fault the CGI toooooo much. All in all, a stellar looking disc.







Audio:

Paramount’s Dolby Atmos track is a full bodied and rich track (it’s sounding more and more like a coffee roast here) with a strong sense of immersion throughout. Dialog is well placed up in the center of the room and surround activity is rather impressive (such as during the Tina Turner sing off, or with Blue crashing into things). Bass is deep and rich, with a punchy center that really brings home the bacon when Blue decides to wreak accidental havoc. The only real downside that I can see is that I could have wished for a bit more dynamic range for the shenanigans. Overheads are solid, but focus on ambient over discrete sounds, and overall this is a fairly impressive audio mix.







Extras:

• The Imagination Behind IF—Hear from writer and director John Krasinski plus the cast and crew as they dive deeper into the process of bringing their imagination to life on screen.
• Imagining Imaginary Friends— Take a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of each imaginary friend.
• Giving IFs a Voice— Meet the all-star cast responsible for voicing each character. Hear from Steve Carrell, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and more!
• Blending The Real and the Imaginary— Join John Krasinski as he incorporates a practical filmmaking approach to make the imaginary feel real.
• Tina Turner Forever!— Experience the reimagining of the iconic 80s Tina Turner music video as John Krasinski recreates this legendary sequence with the IFs.
• The Imaginative World of IF— From Brooklyn Heights to Coney Island, go behind-the-scenes with the cast and crew and experience the magic of New York City like never before.
• Gag Reel— You won't have to imagine the hilarious antics on set once you check out this gag reel!
• Learn to Draw Blue from IF— Learn to draw the loveable and cuddly "Blue" in this fun, interactive tutorial.

Final Score:
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IF is one of those movies that has its heart in the race place at the very least. There’s sweetness and cheeriness to the whole thing that is certainly very endearing. If it had the ability to really find its own voice I think it could have actually fared a bit better. But as it stands, the film can’t seem to decide whether it should be for adults or for kids, and cookie cutter “twist” at the end was a bit too obvious. That being said, it’s certainly cute enough, with some very poignant moments near the end. The 4K UHD disc is stellar, with near perfect video and audio, but a fairly slim array of extras to enjoy. At the end of the day, this is a decent rental for me.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Cailey Fleming, Ryan Reynolds, John Krasinski, Fiona Shaw, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Louis Gossett Jr., Bradley Cooper, Emily Blunt
Directed by: John Krasinski
Written by: John Krasinski
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), French, Spanish, German, Japanese DD 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, Dutch, German, Japanese, Spanish (Latin American
Studio: Paramount
Rated: PG
Runtime: 104 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: August 13th 2024

Recommendation: Good Watch