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Finch Review

by Joe Joe November 11, 2021

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Finch

Works very well as an apocalyptic road trip movie.

Finch

Works very well as an apocalyptic road trip movie.

When you take Wall-E, Short Circuit, I Am Legend, and Cast Away, you get Finch. An apple plus exclusive streaming movie that isn’t original but is pretty good and effective. Mainly because of Tom Hanks performance and the overall effects that accompany him. Streaming entertainment is beginning to easily rival what’s playing in theaters, and I’m all for it.

A solar flare has struck Earth, which has essentially wiped out the ozone layer, becoming a post-apocalyptic world. Tom Hanks plays Finch, who has a dog for a companion who he names Dog. Finch knows he doesn’t have too much time left, so he builds an advanced robot to watch his beloved pet. It calls itself Jeff and is voiced by Caleb Landry Jones. And that’s the plot. Very simple, yet very emotionally charged, mainly thanks to the always reliable Tom Hanks. From good to bad films, he’s always amazing.

The robot Jeff is also a compelling character. He’s essentially just been born, so he is naive about everything, but he’s smart enough to pick up on things quickly. I thank god this wasn’t a Chappie situation. Jeff is more like a Johnny Five type of robot. Loveable, and you want him to succeed. Overall, the design is nothing special but the movement from the effects and the voice acting bring it alive.

Finch is executive produced by Robert Zemeckis. Remember him? Zemeckis has directed some of the best, most important movies of all time, but he lost that creativity later in his career. He became obsessed with computer-animated movies like Polar Express and Beowulf. And a lot of his recent live-action movies haven’t been too hot either. It’s appropriate that Zemeckis has a hand in this since Finch could easily be a double feature night partnered with Cast Away.

We must get more streaming movies like this since I do feel that movie theaters will someday be only available for the massive blockbusters. Many filmmakers are certainly more open to making exclusive content for Apple, Netflix, Amazon, etc. I never thought I’d see the day when your best directors like Scorcese or Fincher would seem to prefer skipping theaters. When I went to Halloween Kills, someone couldn’t keep their lousy mouth shut, which is why I want more streaming content. We’re not quite there yet, but I would think maybe we have a decade more to go. Maybe another generation.

Would I watch it again? Probably. It’s difficult with this kind of movie because it’s very depressing and I’ll have to be in the right mood to watch it again. Finch works very well as an apocalyptic road trip movie, but it’s not that original and predictable. If you’re a dog lover, then you will love this movie. And if you’re a Tom Hanks fan, then you’ll get your fix.