Luck Review: One of Those Days
Luck is an Apple TV original movie following the story of a very unlucky girl. It stars Eva Noble as Sam and Simon Pegg as Bob. It is an animated film made for kids, but is surprisingly relatable to adults.
Luck is worth watching as a family or for children. It may also be worth a watch as an adult if you are looking for some simple comedy and a feel good story. It is not the most engaging movie, but our characters are likeable and funny, and it is an easy watch.
The idea behind the movie is unique and contains a surprisingly well built world, but it still struggles with many aspects that G-rated movies often do. Let’s jump into what made Luck an 8.0/10.
What is Good About Luck?
Luck contains a variety of characters that are both important and fluff, but they are all likeable characters. One of my largest issues with G movies are the usual high-energy, over the top characters that make the movie a hit with kids but drive adults mental. Luck doesn’t have that. While it is a pretty soft, cheery movie, there wasn’t anyone that made me want to pull my eyes out. Anyone that I would consider cheesy or maybe even cringey, such as Jeff the Unicorn voiced by Flula Borg, was so funny that it didn’t come through as annoying. The finding the balance between funny and annoying in G rated movies is tough, but Luck did exactly that.
I don’t think I can go very far without talking about Jane Fonda and Whoopi Goldberg. Both are fairly influential and well known actresses, although I can’t find a Jane Fonda credit for anything I have seen, but they don’t play overly large roles in Luck. The captain, voiced by Goldberg, is a “big brother” like character, always watching over the Land of Luck. The captain is a decent character and provides some funny moments, even without a ton of screen time. Dragon, voice by Fonda, is the most powerful being in the Land of Luck, and experiences even less screen time than the captain. She is a figure of power that is seen more than she is heard, although she plays a bigger role later in the film. I love seeing the inclusion of big names in films where they don’t have a huge role as their name draws people, but still gives our leads a chance to shine.
Our two main characters are hilarious and bring a lot of value to Luck. Bob is a cat, and he is witty, clever, and quite funny. Simon Pegg does a wonderful job of portraying the Scottish cat, and he becomes quite a likeable character. Our true main character, Sam, is a selfless character that wants nothing but to make Hazel happy. Eva Noble also does a good job of voicing her to life, and brining some comedy but also emotional moments to the movie.
The big reason that I think Bob and Sam are funny and not annoying is their relatability. While nearly every other character is static, Bob experiences a fairly significant character arc for a kids movie. Sam has gone through a lot of bad luck, and that is something that a ton of people can relate with. Our characters aren’t always over the top cheery, and that adds some much need depth to a movie that could have been very shallow and very annoying to watch.
I’m not sure I can review an animation movie without talking about the animation but there really isn’t much to talk about. It’s okay but it isn’t great. I didn’t really notice it, whether that is good or bad, and it played a fairly minimal role in Luck. The studio did a mediocre job, and let the movie itself do the talking, which I didn’t mind.
Our storyline is okay, it finishes nicely and the idea behind it is good. The message that Luck is trying to present comes across in quite a clear fashion, adding some meaning to a feel-good story. Unfortunately, the pacing makes more difficult to digest.
What is Bad about Luck?
The main downfall of this movie is the pacing. While I don’t expect all G-rated movies to be action packed, 1 and a half hour movies, I have watched plenty of two hour kids movies and been engaged for the entire length. Luck gets boring in more than a few points, and it feels like a movie that should have been an hour and a half. By cutting some of the fluff in-between, the plot would have been more concise and engaging, instead of the drawn out mess we get in the middle.
I found myself going to my phone more than a few times in the middle, and the 2 hours started to feel very long as the movie went along. I did really enjoyed the ending, but that middle section had no reason to be that long. There wasn’t a ton of character development to explain the length, just some lengthy scenes that should have been shorter. The movie just keeps going and going and going ,and would have been even more enjoyable in a short runtime.
In the end, I really enjoyed Luck. Even if it felt quite long, the characters are likeable and enjoyable, and the comedy is good. It really is a funny, simple movie, and it doesn’t need to be much more than that. Luck feels like a movie that will be enjoyed by most, but if you don’t like G movies, I would steer clear.
