Film Review: If [2024] – Cailey Fleming, Ryan Reynolds, John Krasinski

If, the movie, has a cute premise. But the over-engineering forces the movie to go nowhere. It’s sad to see considering such a talented cast.

Starring Ryan Reynolds, John Krasinski and Cailey Fleming, the movie is written and directed by Karsinky. He displays a lot of charm and filmmaking prowess in certain sequences, with a uncynical sincerity that shines through in a lot of other places on the screen. He knows how to reach each member of the family differently using a different Imaginary Friend, making for a good family movie night that sparks creativity and tugs at the heartstrings.

However, the studio interference is clear to try to force a Disney clone. This Pixar-ish fable falls a little short of the films it resembles. In fact, the movie doesn’t know its audience. It definitely has imagination on its side, but it needed a more focused story and better-defined logic to its universe’s rules. Too silly for a drama and too dramatic for a comedy.

If you put everyone’s purple fuzzy friend to the side a bit, the real star of this film is composer Michael Giacchino, who turns out another banger score.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s a good streaming movie while you do something around the house. Is it worth sitting and focusing on it? Probably not.

Should you watch it?

Don’t get me wrong. I love that Paramount is trying to get into the inspiring-children movie corner of the market. We all know Disney dominates that corner, and I’d welcome any competition.

However, even when If was allowed to have its own flavor, you can see the studio executives stamps all over it.

Where can I watch it?

You can stream If on Paramount+.