RIM OF THE WORLD
McG (2019)
1.5 STARS
Joseph McGinty’s submission to the recent resurgence of ‘80s ‘kids on bikes’ films fails spectacularly. A handful of diverse characters are reduced to stereotypes with motivations as weak as the plot itself. Respite from cliche comes in the form of genuine moments of comedy, but these are few and far between. Instead, the CGI action is padded out by melodrama and eye-rolling MacGuffins.
The film makes countless references to popular culture, the first few of which are fun, but it gets so bogged down in them that the audience is forced to think about how enjoyable those films were, how this one is the polar opposite. The fact that Rim of the World, a title irrelevant to the film, essentially pauses in the middle for an Adidas advert says it all. This story with no heart is here to piggy-back on the successes of Stranger Things.