News Of The World - Movie Review

Critics Score - 7 of 10

General Audience Score - 7 of 10

News Of The World is being touted as one of the big dad movies of the year. Not difficult to see how a western film with Tom Hanks as the lead actor would catch that kind of tagline. But is News a great dad movie in the vein of Ford V Ferrari, or just a middle of the pack one?

PROS - News Of The World follows the story of Tom Hanks, who plays Captain Jefferson Kidd, an aged civil war veteran who happens upon a young girl who speaks a native indian language. The girls name is Kiowa and is played by newcomer Helena Zengel, and she is truly spectacular in her debut role. The acting carried by Hanks and Zengel is excellent and the two have a very nice chemistry on screen together. Captain Kidd turns into a father figure of sorts as the two travel from town to town in search of the girls family, or at least willing parental figures. The outdoor visuals are standard western fare but the design of the old west towns, hotels and restaurants are top notch and allow one to be immersed into 1850’s Texas life. The threats of danger around every corner are almost palpable as Kidd and Kiowa try and make their way to those entrusted with the girls care.

Beside the acting, the writing and story are also very good, the film keeps up a nice pace as our two main characters seem to regularly need to escape precarious situations. Captain Kidd makes his living reading the news from various newspapers to the townspeople he visits, shining a light on a fascinating time before TV, radio or motorized transit. With that being said, does this film make its way into the upper tier of dad movies?

CONS - News Of The World is a tough movie to critique, as it’s doing many things well. But in the end the film is less than the sum of its parts. I suppose that deserves an explanation. The film has a few decent scenes of action, the danger I mentioned earlier and some drama between the characters builds some intrigue. But despite the nice pacing, this film never really gathers any momentum, the film isn’t really heading somewhere it’s build any excitement to pay off when we arrive. It also has a slower anti-climactic ending that is almost a bit of a letdown, if you haven’t figured out how it ends an hour in, you need to watch more movies.

Despite the many good and really good things News Of The World has going for it, it just isn’t a well-rounded film experience. It just doesn’t have the buildup and excitement that results in the kind of movie you return to over and over again to get caught up in.

SUMMARY - This movie is a nice one to throw on and watch with your dad sometime. Hanks and Zengel put on a great show, it’s an interesting story and overall it’s still a really good movie. But it doesn’t cross over into the realm of great dad flicks. Dads will watch Remember The Titans, Apollo 13 and Ford V Ferrari many times over before they get an inclination to grab a paper and reread this News Of The World.