Maggie (2015)

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Easily in the top 5 most boring zombie movies i have ever seen. Do you want a zombie movie that has nothing to do with zombies & absolutely nothing interesting happens? Then this is the movie for you.

Maggie is a movie that seems it was made to make you cry more than scream. In an post-apocalyptical world Abby Breslin is bitten by a zombie and her father (the Governator) has the task of not terminate but stay at his daughter's side while she's slowly transforming into a zombie in a matter of few days. Maggie isn't an action movie although it has all the elements present in one and not even an horror movie either,only occasionaly. Instead of just copying A-level Hollywood productions like World War Z this is a very intimistic picture about what happens when you're transforming slowly into a zombie. It is like John Cassavetes had make a zombie movie with almost all scenes being interiors with plenty of dialogue and family life being looked closely while we see it being turned to pieces. Focusing not on the flesh-eating creatures but in the effects of being bitten by one is without a doubt smart and original,but unfortunately Maggie fails more than it succeeds. First of all we don't see Abby's attack that left her arm bitten.It could've been without a doubt a strong visceral scene by we being introduced to the title character and almost immediately after that she gets violently attacked by a zombie.After the hospital where she's in gives her the permission to just leave the quarantine while she's still human and simply come back to her house and family,waiting that when the stages of the infection gets worse her parents will take her back to the hospital.Really?That is really absurd because she's infected with a zombie virus clearly infectious and they gonna simply let her leave to go home?I'm sorry but that doesn't make any sense but on the one hand I understand the makers of the movie didn't want Abby to spend the entire movie immobile in a hospital bed with daddy Arnold by her side.It woul've been a very boring although realistic movie. With Abby back home we can see how her disease affects everybody and everything she's next to and that generates genuine human emotions that echoes from the screen. But also other problem is that the dialogue isn't deep enough as it should've been and the interactions between Arnold (father) and Abby (daughter) aren't as deep and sstisfactory as it should've been. The incidental silence that permeates the movie is more empty than atmospheric.It just serves to show how minimal the script is really. Of course Arnold and Abby have their moments (Abby the most in my opinion) but the dialogue and the performances are very restrained and when a movie talks about human drama and someone losing his loved one forever,being restrained is not a good choice for a movie like that. This movie was a great opportunity for Arnold show his acting skills for drama in a rare role and I really think he's a very talented actor and he gives a good performance in a decent role but it makes you wishing for more as like the movie itself.I even find it surprising a movie that was the opportunity that Arnold waited for years to play a good dramatic role and at the end it was something so restrained for him to play. For the movie to be better and with more pacing Arnold could've been more intense and obsessed in finding a cure for his daughter throughout the story in a way similar to Denzel Washington in John Q.The movie could've been more intense and more strongly-plotted.And since the zombie action is so minimal why don't give the few of the scenes featuring zombies a little more of depth?The bitting scene that should've been brief and intense;a great opportunity for Abby freak out and give an acting and drama show and also the scenes when she's slowly transforming herself into a zombie also could've been a great opportunity for her to show a great dramatic performance like Jeff Goldblum transforming himself into a giant fly but that isn't shown so we as it should have. For example one scene that could've been scary is when the half-zombie Abby walks in the woods and eats a live red-fox,but nothing of that is shown,is only mentioned visually and verbally.What a disappointment.That scene could've been effectively revolting and a good moment for Abby to deliver a very good frightening performance. When it comes to zombies and human drama this movie lacks both.It could've been more unsettling and graphic. On the paper Maggie could've been a great opportunity to see a zombie movie that is also a metaphor about a disfunctional family and zombie infection serving as a metaphor of epidemics that can happen in the present like venereal diseases or the HIV. If the makers of the movie had the same cleverness of George A. Romero to make his movies great metaphors it could've been an excellent picture,but unfortunately that is not the case. Another ironic disappointment is that at the end of the movie we don't even see the transformation completed at all.This is without questioning the time for booing. The movie's subtleties are in fact its biggest sin. Maggie talks about plenty of things but rarely shows them so what's the purpose of the movie after all? By the end Maggie is a movie thats you wanting for more,a lot more,it's pretty boring and could've been better without having commitment with drama. However still the movie's concept is original and promising and just by that I'll have to give the movie points and it also has Arnold Schwarzenegger in it and it has zombies to...occasionaly. My Rating 4 out of 10.

While this film does give more meaning to the life of a zombie before becoming one, it does it in a pale way; this movie is very boring to watch. I found it hard to just to keep myself awake while watching the film. If you're looking for an action film, or a film that keeps its pace up, you will be gravely disappointed.

This script is OK at times - and I do give high praise for getting this film made. Look - I have no idea what went into the production of this story, but Maggie could have been an instant classic if they made two simple decisions: fix the incoherent premise and then have an ending where Arnold at least tries to save the day! The rules of this story are that a zombie apocalypse has taken place and if kids are bitten the local government allows their parents to take them home until the transformation happens. When the transformation happens, the parents must bring the kids to the quarantine area to be exterminated. Now - what kind of a government would realistically do this? But, for the sake of zombie-lore and dramatic tension let's say the government does allow this to happen. There is no cure. The kids they get bit. The kid will meet a tragic fate. Everyone is miserable. The end. I understand that the story is about loss and saying goodbye - but there was no conflict going on. Arnold did not try to find a cure. He barely fought to save his daughter. Arnold did not get aggressive. There are streaks of brilliance in the story - such as when Arnold sees a girl zombie and stares at the destruction his own family will soon endure. There is good acting, good cinematography - but the problem with the film is that the character's never change and there is no real conflict that drives the plot forward. Arnold should have fought to save his child - perhaps he falls short - but that is a story audiences can get behind. For a film to be a tragedy a character has to sow the seeds of their own destruction. Without that arc - than the movie is just a downer. Like watching someone get hit by a car. It's sad. But its' not tragic. This movie is sad - but it could have been a tragic masterpiece.