Ben Stiller remakes the story of Walter Mitty – a man whose life is so mundane, he likes to daydream of fantastic adventures until finally finds himself on one. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty review is right here.
It has to be said, when I first saw the official trailer for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty I was smitten. The imagery, the music, the ideas; I had high hopes that the film may become my favourite of 2013. Does the movie live up to the trailer? Nearly.
Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) works in the negative department of Life magazine, daydreams of incredible adventures and has a crush on a colleague called Cheryl (Kristen Wiig) but can’t approach her. The magazine is about to shut to make way for an online service and the companies favourite photographer has sent in a roll of film with a negative he says is his best yet, to be used on the magazine’s last ever front cover. Only, Walter Mitty can’t find it.
With his job on the line, Walter sets out on a fantastical journey to track down the photographer Sean O’Connell (Sean Penn) to find the missing negative; a journey that takes him to Greenland, Iceland and Afghanistan. 
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a beautifully shot film with strong sentimentality, yet becomes a little unstuck when it adds a little unnecessary humour into the mix. I feel the film would have worked better with it just being a drama about a man on an incredible journey. Adam Scott plays his new (horrible) boss, and while Scott does a good job, I didn’t feel the role was a necessity to move along the story, it was there just to add some humour and that let me down a little.
Let’s touch upon the journey part, as not only is Walter’s trip about finding Sean, it’s also about finding himself. The bigger the adventure becomes the less he fantasizes – something that echoes in real life – Don’t just dream it, live it.
Stiller does an excellent job of directing the story he has wanted to do for years. The effects are good, the actors are good and the story is great, but could have been a little better. Still, it is a great and enjoyable film for everyone.
Overall Thoughts:
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is as fantastical an adventure as the titular hero’s daydreams, yet the comedy elements stops this film from receiving a five star rating.