I saw Elemental in a 141-person Dolby Cinema at AMC Theater on Thursday, June 22nd, at 4:00 CT. I went with my 11-year-old. We arrived a little late for the trailers at 4:08.
Trailers Seen
- Trolls Band Together (November 17)
- Barbie (July 21)
- Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (June 30)
- Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie (September 29)
- Elio (March 1, 2024)
- Wish (November 22)
- Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (June 30)
Timing
- Start Time: 4:00
- Last Trailer End: 4:22
- Start of Movie (after Dolby Cinema & Kidman): 4:26
- End of Short (Doug’s Date): 4:33
- End of Movie: 6:05
- End of Credits: 6:15
Movie Start Delay (Dolby Cinema): 26m
Movie Start Delay (No Short): 33m
Runtime: 1h50m
Non-Credit Runtime: 1h32m
Brief Review
The movie is essentially Zootopia without an intriguing plot or comedy.
Although it introduces a non-binary character, that character has very little screen time. Wade’s boss, Gale, could have easily been a lesbian. Instead, she connects with the Sloth, I mean Fern Grouchwood. I’m getting a little tired of Disney trying to play both sides. They don’t want to upset China, but they want to acknowledge unrepresented populations.
This is a classic middle-of-the-road Disney picture. It checks many boxes as a real movie, with some heart, but it barely clears the bar. I don’t think anyone needs to see this in theaters. We watched in Dolby Cinema, and although the fire animation was lovely, and there were a few beautiful scenes, it feels like most will rightly be consuming it on Disney+.
Scores
Tom: 6/10
11-year-old: 5/10
Average: 5.5/10