Based on a novel by the same title by British children’s author Roald Dahl, the film is directed by Steven Spielberg.

    Mark Rylance plays the Big Friendly Giant, a giant who wanders* around London at night sending dreams to the city’s sleeping citizens. One night, he’s seen by the insomniac* orphan Sophie (Ruby Barnhill). Fearing that she’ll tell the world about him, he takes the child to live with him in Giant Country.

    The BFG, as Sophie calls him, isn’t a bad guy. His fellow giants, led by Fleshlumpeater (Jemaine Clement), are all brutish* “cannybulls.” The BFG is a kind-hearted and lonely vegetarian*.

    The BFG is bullied* by the other giants. In his desire for companionship, he’s like the world’s biggest dog.

    Rylance’s performance is so good that it’s able to overcome* a good part of the film’s weaknesses.

    Primary among those is pacing — this is a long film that spends a lot of time on the BFG and Sophie just hanging around and talking, before coming to an anti-climactic final showdown* in what feels like less than five minutes.

    “The BFG,” thanks in large part to Janusz Kaminski’s cinematography*, well captures the sense of magic from the original book, but the audience may hope it were kept within less than 115 minutes. There’s just not enough story here. Certain characters seem little more than afterthoughts*.

    That said, the movie’s best sequence is one where not much happens at all.

    As Sophie keeps asking, the BFG takes the girl along on a dream-gathering trip, hopping through a magical pool to Dream Country, an upside-down world where “phizzwizards” — the stuff that dreams are made of — circle the branches of a giant tree like Apple’s “Flurry” screensaver. Together, girl and giant chase* these phosphorescent* blurs around like butterflies.

    It’s a hypnotic sequence, giving longtime Spielberg collaborator John Williams the richest moment to heighten via a full orchestral score. Like Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo,” another artfully crafted children’s-book adaptation, “The BFG” will likely draw a modest but admiring family audience.

    (SD-Agencies)