Trailer- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZjBpt5mCCA
Rating- PG-13
Genre- Fantasy, Horror, Thriller
Warnings- Violence, minor language, blood
Upon first viewing the trailer, I got a sense that this movie would be pretty mediocre at best and it would quickly fade away with no one having any desire to bring it up again. No one's going to ask for a sequel or have lingering feelings about the emotional turmoil of the characters, but even so... something inside me wanted to watch it as much as I wanted to watch Spiderman: Homecoming (which I reviewed in the past).
Though I'm a little late in watching the movie, I ultimately did see it- not in theaters- which is a good thing to point out because I didn't think it'd be worth the money to see.
Still, maybe I was proven wrong. Maybe this movie is the next "Saw" or "Friday the 13th."
On that note, was "Wish Upon" a viewer's dream come true or did it all come crashing down to a nightmare?
The story of "Wish Upon" involves a teenage girl named Clare (Joey King) who obtains a mysterious box that can grant her 7 wishes. She uses the box with little knowledge of the deadly consequences that come along with it. It feels like a plot that I've come across many times in the past, but what story hasn't been brought up at this point? So I'm not going to knock the movie down for that, but what I will knock it down for is how they handled this story.
The plot had a ton of potential, but it feels like the first draft ended up being the final draft as the scenes came out to be so rushed and clunky. It was like I was watching two different movies: first one about a girl in school and another about a girl's family getting killed.
Almost every time Clare would make a wish it would immediately follow with a random family member or friend getting axed off. By the 30 minute mark, at least 3 of Clare's loved ones have died and it felt very fast when I watched it, almost like the people behind the movie wanted to complete the story as soon as possible.
Clare makes a wish, person dies, wish granted, repeat. It goes like that for what felt like a long time, and even when Clare discovers the consequences of her actions, she still uses the box which is absolutely ridiculous.
You could argue that the writers wanted a character to make silly decisions in order for the movie to progress, but nowhere does it say that this is a comedy. This was made to be taken seriously, and I would appreciate if there can be a character who makes legitimate mistakes but also makes smart decisions on how to fix their problems. When it comes to Clare, it seems like she just wants to make things worse for herself, and this especially is true with the wishes she makes.
I know she's a teenager, but I have faith that a teenager wouldn't be so shallow as to wish for something as superficial as, "I want a boyfriend" or "I want a cool dad."
It's been a little over half a year since I turned 20 years old thus I remember my teenage years clearly. I don't speak for every teenager in the world but if I had that power (without knowing about the ramifications) I would wish for unlimited money, peace among the world, and a better government system just to name a few. I would wish for things benefits not only me but the community and will more likely have me live a better life permanently.
The things Clare asks for are not exactly permanent solutions to her problems and even a friend of hers mentions how selfish she appears by having all the wishes center around her.
Despite what I'm saying about Clare, I did end up feeling sorry for her anyway. Nearing the end of the film, I felt this heat of rage boil in my blood whenever a character would blame her or yell at her. Frankly I feel like I shouldn't have cared, but I did.
Perhaps I can relate somehow somewhere in my deep subconsciousness? I don't know, and I don't think even if it was that was the case that I came to that conclusion because of the "excellent" writing, it would merely be coincidence.
Now onto the characters, I've talked a lot about our protagonist Clare but to sum it up she came off as a pitiful, naive teenager who had short-sighted dreams to be liked and cared for. The only likable thing about her is that in the end, she does try her best to make things right and she wasn't a pushover when it came to her bullies. She would fight back whenever they'd tease her and that's a rare quality in a character which I like.
Side characters like Clare's friends- Meredith and June (Sydney Park and Shannon Purser)- didn't even feel like her friends, but rather just classmates that hanged around her vicinity. It's almost like they're just as bad as the bullies, especially Meredith.
It wasn't like they physically abused Clare, but their values were a bit on the mean side. For example, there is a scene where one of the bullies is injured- possibly going to die- and one of them laughs about it and relishes in the fact that they might die. For friends of the protagonist, that's screwed up on a whole new level.
The Chinese boy that helps Clare discover what the box entails, I think his name is Ryan (Ki Hong Lee) is okay. He was one of the better actors, though his intentions with Clare a bit off and on. One minute he seems like he's interested in dating her and the next he can't stand her.
Other side characters were cookie cutter stereotypes with the embarrassing father and the girly mean girls who always run in a clique with one of them having a no-personality boyfriend.
If I can describe the deaths in this movie with 1 word, it would be goofy. They tried so hard to make them scary and tense when going into the scene, you already know that person is going to die and your first guess is more than likely going to be the right one on how they die. And each death, save for the last three are wasted on irrelevant minor characters who served little to no purpose in the story, therefore there's no sense of tragedy.
You're not clawing to your chair praying to God your favorite character doesn't meet the Grim Reaper, you're chuckling and anticipating when the writers will stop teasing you and finally show the killing.
Would I recommend this movie? Only if you rent it, there is no need to see it in theaters- it is not worth it. However, it can be goofy and might get some laughs out of you and your friends. It's best not to take the movie seriously as it surely didn't do so to itself.
The way the story was presented was weak, the characters were either unlikable or stereotypically obnoxious, little blood and gore is shown and the predictability is so off the charts that even the ending made me sigh and go, "I knew that was going to happen."
On the plus side, it is only 1 hour and 23 minutes long, so it's quick to watch, and as I said before it can be really funny if you don't try to put too much logic in it. I feel like it's a movie you will remember just for how ludicrous is was, but I don't expect a sequel to be in the works.
I give "Wish Upon" a 2 out of 5 stars.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
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The girl and the dog are going to die. At least the dog is going to die right away.
Why is everyone impressed with Clare's rebuttal? If you have to explain a insult, it's not that funny.
What makes Clare and her friends nerds? They don't exactly specify on that. I for one think Meredith can be cool enough to be with the popular kids, as for the others they're just...there really. No one deserves to be bullied, but I don't see these girls as easy targets. If anything, they just fade in the background.
That's a really weird way to phrase that wish. "I wish she would rot," who says that? What would have worked better was saying something like, "I wish she burns in hell for what she did to me/ I wish she was punished for what she did."
What is up with that blonde girl's guy friend? You see your friend literally rotting and the first thing you do is laugh and take a picture of her and post it on the internet?
I know Meredith doesn't like the girl and she's done some terrible stuff to her friend, but that's really horrible how cold she is to this situation that this girl can die from the rot.
I'm doubting that hitting your head on the facet would kill you. Also, why was the uncle creepy again? What did he do?
Where this did love story sprout from? Ryan likes Clare now?
Why did the Chinese girl die? Didn't one of the trailers say every time you make a wish, someone you LOVE dies? In that short amount of time did Clare love that girl?
Why didn't Clare invite Paul to go to her table and make things good for everybody? I get it, it's the heat of the moment and you feel pressured to decide on one or the other but still, that would have been the best option.
Why are the main character's friends always, ALWAYS, pissed at them for little things in the middle of the story to create conflict, like not sitting with them at a table? I mean, did they not know Clare was into Paul? She's sitting there to be with Paul, not the popular kids. She never showed herself wanting to be with the cool kids (not at this point at least), so let her be with the guy this one time. Why do you have to be such jerks about it? I hate that, plus it's not like Clare quickly said, "Ohh, let me sit with the popular kids!" She clearly hesitated, meaning she cared about both parties.
Why didn't the popular girl walk around the other way to talk to Clare? It was a shorter pathway and makes the scene more extended and awkward.
Okay, here comes technical Garnetjen here but...Paul is NOT madly in love with Clare. He is obsessed with her. If the writers wanted to be accurate, to be in love with someone is to respect them and listen to them about how they feel and what they want from you- that's only a few components for love anyways. Paul has done none of that. I can accept him being into her right away, but the way he treats her afterwards is not consistent with my idea of true love. He breaks into her house, takes pictures of her while she sleeps without her knowing, stalks her, and tries to force her into staying with him. If he loved her, when she tried to break up with him he would accept that, being in love with someone doesn't mean you have to be with them romantically. Granted, that's how you'd prefer it, but it doesn't always happen and if someone's true love is not okay with dating them, a person in love would understand their decision and still care for them from a distance. Side note, if Paul loved Clare, he would have stood up for her when those bullies still messed with her right in from of him. There were 2 times where his ex bullied Clare right in front of him- it was in no way subtle- and yet he pretends it didn't even happen. He doesn't even say to Clare something like, "Don't worry about her" but instead brushes it off as if it's okay to have the girl you love be shoved against a locker or be told that she is a nobody.
So your dad being cooler just means he plays a saxophone all the time? Also, the way that scene was filmed with the friends listening to the dad play, it made me thing that there was going to be a forced relationship between June and the dad. I thank the movie for never doing that.
Did someone die for the "making my dad cool" wish yet? I'm placing my bets on Meredith going next.
I was right, but you know? As sad as it is for Clare losing her friend, I didn't like Meredith that much. They tried to make her a relatable, blunt girl but from her actions she comes off like a complete jerk.
When Ryan said, "I wish I never met you," I freaking lost it. In my head I was screaming and I felt bad for this girl. I know she did some stupid things, but I mean damn, she loses her mom by suicide, lives in poor conditions, bullied all the time by what feels like half the school, makes the first few wishes without knowing the consequences so you couldn't blame her really, then when things are turning out great her friends start to hate her, one of them dies, Paul presumably kills himself in front of her, and now Ryan- who she might like at this point- says he never wanted to see her even though SHE never even approached him about her issue until he brought it up first. This girl is so pitiful, it makes my heart ache.
Was June thinking of using the box? If so, WHY?! You know what it does and you say that, "You have 2 sisters" meaning you're going to try to help them with it? IT KILLS PEOPLE, JUNE! At least with Clare, she's deep into this mud so she's trying to rectify it and doesn't want anyone else to go through what she went through. So how the heck do you think your story would end if you used the box, June? Tell me.
Oh be quiet, Ryan! Seriously, this girl has gone through enough! Don't you think that you too would go insane after figuring out you killed people you cared about?
"I wish my mom never committed suicide," but you didn't wish her back to life, technically. You just wish she didn't kill herself, so logically the wish would only grant that instead of suicide she would die of natural causes, or a car crash, or anything that doesn't involve purposely ending her own life. I would have loved if the movie ended that way, with Clare reading a paper on how her mom died in the hospital or something and she screams in agony. That would have gotten a good laugh.
Who are the 2 kids? Are those Clare's siblings that would have been born if her mom was still alive?
Was the audience supposed to be shocked that Clare's mom used the box before her death? Because I wasn't at least, not at all. I just wonder what she wished for, probably the dog for one and what family members had to die to gain those wishes. If the opening scene wasn't included then there could be more surprise to it.
I internally laughed when the dad got killed. It's so embarrassing to almost save your dad only to see him die in front of you.
Here's a good wish, "I wish that everybody who died from my wishes would come back to life and no one, including myself, will not die from this wish." That would be better than, "I want to go back to before I found you," sure, everyone else comes back to life, but you were told that the final price for your wish is to take your soul, so it's still going to kill you.
Clare's going to die. Clare's going to die. Clare's going to die. And, she's dead.
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