Critic's Grade: A

Perhaps one of the most creative and well-crafted tales of our time, Tim Burton's visual and character-driven tall tale homage "Big Fish" is truly a modern marvel of cinematic greatness. Great acting and a capturing story line make "Big Fish" a worthy crowd pleaser.

Edward Bloom (Albert Finney) had always had his way with telling stories. He'd often take a simple, boring everyday story and turn it into a whopping tale of adventure, which usually made him the life of the party. But Edward's son (Billy Cudrup) has heard it all before. Throughout his life, he couldn't help feel as though he had been lied to, and that his father was never being honest with him. With those reasons in tact, it became his decision to cut off contact with his father for three years. But with news that Edward may be on his death bed, he is sparked to return home with his pregnant wife, not only for his death, but to finally get his father to tell him the alternate versions of his stories. The facts, exposed from behind a wall of tall tales.

But Edward claims that it is not his time to go, as he saw his death through a witch's eye. Knowing how he would die, Edward could do what he pleased, knowing he'd live to see another day. And with this, we are taken into Edward's past. Young Edward (Ewan McGregor) becomes an inspiration for his home town, becoming a hero, a genius and a very reasonable and inspiring human being. With the news that a giant has been terrorzing the town, Edward makes a plea with the giant, named Karl (Matthew McGory), that they will leave town together and search for their destinies. After a ceremonious going away party, Edward leaves town down a dark and spooky path, which leads him to the quiet town of Spectre. Living in spectre are an assorted array of country folk, including Edward's inspiration, the great poet Nother Winslow (Steve Buscemi). Edward stays in Spectre with the life-loving townsfolk, and decides that he must, one day, venture out of the free-spirited town and find what his destiny really is. And so, Edward joins Amos Calloway's (Danny DeVito) circus, where he finds the love of his life, Sandra (Alison Lohman). After convincing her to leave her fiancee, Sandra agrees to marry Edward, who is unfortunately shipped off to the army. And after he joins the army, Edward devises a clever way to make it back to Sandra, alongside Asian siamese singing sensations Ping and Ling (Ada Tai and Arelene Tai). More adventures are brought amongst the young explorer, including another encounter with Norther Winslow and an unexpected return to a very changed Spectre.

Although convoluted at best, "Big Fish" is remarkable for its lay out. The basic back stories and tall tales are cleverly intertwined with the story of Edward's last days. Tim Burton, who is most famous for such great works as "Edward Scissorhands" and "Ed Wood," crafts this story into a movie reminiscent of his own style. The visual work is outstanding, and since Burton is a visual expert anyway, the movie is made even more interesting and inspiring.

Albert Finney gives a heartfelt performance, while we fail to notice Cudrup's character. He (Cudrup) brings the movie's atmosphere down to near-depressing. If there is anything wrong with this movie, I would have to say that the constant interruption of Bloom's stories by Cudrup is it. His tales have a great effect on the mind, which is also why the novel ranks as one of my favorites. The transition from paper to screen is well-done, almost as good as "The Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter" movies. A viewer of this movie will believe what they see really happened in Bloom's lifetime, and what makes this movie great is the fact that a viewer doesn't care if its true or not. It's just a great tale, a tall tale, that gives us two hours of pure entertainment.

"Big Fish" is an achievement, at best, and is a great family film. With a cast of excellent supporting characters, a deeply moving story line, and Tim Burton at the helm of this film, "Big Fish" is a marvel that should go unmissed.

My Score: 9 (out of 10)

All Reviews by Jordan Boyd
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