In recent years there have been many attempts at making movies based off video game properties and all these attempts have failed and failed miserably. But sometimes a movie comes along like Kubo and the Two Strings, that plays out like a classic video game adventure and makes you wonder, why do they keep attempting to make movies of video game properties when they can make solid original adventure movies?
Kubo and the Two Strings is a stop-motion adventure movie from Laika, the studio that brought us Coraline, ParaNorman and The Boxtrolls. This movie is about a young boy named Kubo, who must go on an adventure to find his father's ancient battle armor. Kubo doesn't go on this journey alone though, he is helped by a monkey named Monkey (voiced by Charlize Theron) and a beetle-like man named Beetle (voiced by Matthew McConaughey). Along the way Kubo must avoid his evil aunts (voiced by Rooney Mara) and his grandfather, Raiden the Moon King (voiced by Ralph Fiennes) as well as various other creatures.
There are a lot of positive things to say about Kubo and the Two Strings. First off, I really enjoyed how the adventure played out. It truly played out like a video game. There was great world building at the beginning that explained the lore of the world. There were three parts to the armor that Kubo had to find and those played out like mini-dungeons that are found in video games with a boss battle at the end of each. At the completion of each "dungeon", Kubo gained new abilities that would aid him on his next task. While watching the movie, I kept thinking about how much fun this adventure would be to play out at home in a video game.
Another great part of Kubo and the Two Strings was the stop-motion animation. This movie was absolutely beautiful to look at. The design of each character was unique and original. I loved the design of Monkey the most and multiple times throughout the movie I was wishing I could have a figurine of her. There were multiple times throughout the movie I would be sitting there awestruck in wonder on how did they make this movie. Most animated movies today are made using computers, but this was made using stop-motion puppets and the fact that this movie has epic battle scenes you just can't help but wonder how long each of those scenes took to make.
The characters in Kubo and the Two Strings are also fantastic. I loved the passion that Kubo would have when he was telling stories to those in his village or when he discovered a new skill. I loved the banter between Monkey and Beetle. They were constantly shooting one-liner jokes at each other that would cause everyone to laugh. The evil aunts brought this extreme evil and creepiness to the movie. Every time they were on the screen you would forget you were watching a "kids" movie because they were super scary, I can definitely see them causing nightmares for little ones (and maybe me too).
The only real issue I had with the movie was the main villain, Raiden the Moon King. They kind of build him up through the lore with bits of information here and there, but they never showed him until the very end. This caused me to not really feel his impact on the story and how things wrapped up. Previously I compared the adventure in Kubo and the Two Strings to a video game and this complaint I have with the villain is one I have with many newer games. You get this great adventure with solid boss battles throughout, but then last boss is just underwhelming and leaves you wanting more.
Kubo and the Two Strings is a fantastic adventure that everyone should go see. The story is exciting and keeps you engaged the entire time. The characters are hilarious and fun to be around. The visuals are incredible and you will have a smile on your face the entire time because of how beautiful it looks. Movies like this don't come around often and when something original and fresh like Kubo and the Two Strings comes out, it should be seen and seen on the biggest screen possible.
4 1/2 out of 5 Stars
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