After having watched Wolf Children years ago, I'd never really thought about seeking out another Hosoda film. It was a nice little movie, but felt kinda safe and stiff in its approach. Today I decided why not try out Summer Wars, just give it a shot and see what happens! What I got was the exact opposite of my expectation. I was severely mistaken for thinking Hosoda was a cautious director, as this movie ended up being a flawed, yet completely unique experience.

For one, I respect the hell out of this movie. It delves into the philosophy of the family unit, importance of human interaction, and creates a unique visionary experience with a variety of characters in a massive ensemble cast. But it also tries to function as a thriller "save the world" action flick about the fear of technology and the lack of security we have in our lives. This works really well sometimes and creates an absolutely unique experience, but other times it falls completely flat.

I think the biggest issue in the film is the disparity in quality between the family life stuff and the technological save the world stuff. When they combine together they make an absolutely great and tense storyline, such as the ending of the film. But on its own the OZ storyline is just so dull and boring. The concept is great, showcasing the lack of interaction on the screen and contrasting it with the vibrant, lively family unit, but it never really seems to fully click. I think thats in part due to the villain being extremely underdeveloped, which made this entire storyline feel pointless. Along with that, the story of the uncle made 0 sense to me, I would get into spoilers but I will just say the dude is an IDIOT. Like what did you expect to happen? His weird redemption near the end feels so hamfisted and I really disliked how his dynamic with Natsuki never really gets solved. That's why the biggest attraction of the film isn't the sci fi story, but rather the unique family ensemble cast story, which I feel like belongs almost in an entirely different movie. The characters are so alive and vibrant, and tonally all over the place, but in a way that it replicates a real family extremely well. By the end of the film I felt like I had a grasp on all 30 or so of the family members, which is an insane task to accomplish for a movie just over 90 minutes.

Overall this movie confuses me. It's fun and ballsy, but just so jumbled up that it never really seems to fully work. I think this is an intensely individualistic film, and at times extremely mature, despite its juvenile nature. I know thats vague but I don't really know how to explain it. It's a movie that kind of feels like a canvas for Hosoda's philosophies on connection to breathe light into, and I could appreciate that tone.