This is a movie that many reviewers obviously deeply loved, but which others have found unsatisfying. As someone in the latter camp, let me take a stab at helping those who are trying to decide whether to watch this movie which camp they might fall in. Ultimately, I think the viewer's experience will depend on whether she or he most enjoys movies that focus on "being", or those that focus on "becoming". Viewers who derive great enjoyment from sharing a character's experiences of love, pleasure, pain, etc., will find much to like in this film. It's the work of top flight talent. However, viewers who get their pleasure from exploring the deeper effects of a character's unique experiences on his or her development as a person will probably find little to justify this film's nearly 3 hour viewing time. While it's a visually beautiful movie with much to like, in the end I felt it did little to exploit its very interesting premise of the main character's "reverse aging" (being born old and becoming progressively younger throughout his lifespan). The biggest problem for was the lack of central character development throughout the course of the film--the sense that Benjamin was doing more than experiencing and feeling, but was also learning and growing. He was like a travel suitcase that ended up with lots of stickers on the outside marking the interesting places he'd visited, but containing little of substance that he'd picked up along the way. Benjamin remained for me essentially an uninteresting person to whom interesting things happened, and that just wasn't enough for me to lift this into the category of great movies.

This is actually a story within a story. Primarily, it tells an exceptional story of a man born with an unfortunate variation of "projeria", a disease that causes premature aging. In this fictitious variation, the baby is born with features and medical conditions consistent with a 70-year-old man but appears to be aging in reverse. The story is presented in the form of flash-backs from a hand-written diary that a young woman reads to her dying mother. As she reads more of it she begins to suspect that her mother's past is much more intertwined with this unfortunate (or fortunate) man than she first thought. By the time she finishes the diary she learns the truth about her mother's attempts to atone for her selfishness and some life-changing truths about herself. After his mother dies during child birth this unfortunate baby's father, repulsed by his appearance, abandons him on the steps of an "old folks home". A warm-hearted nurse takes pity on him and raises him as her own child right there in the nursing home. Because of his appearance, everyone assumes he is a frail old man. This gets him in trouble when he innocently yearns to play with others his age. He forms a bond with a visiting young girl that is renewed and strengthened later in life. The story follows his life through evermore thrilling and heart-warming adventures as he appears to get increasingly younger, periodically encountering his childhood friend. Folded into the pages of the dusty diary are postcards, photos, and notes that reveal more about how the daughter and her dying mother are connected to the man her mother has kept secret from her all these years... Stellar performances by Brad Pitt (Benjamin Button), Cate Blanchett (Daisy), and Taraji Henson (Queenie). Bravo!!!

All i can really say about this movie. Moving. Inspiring. A huge reminder that life is to short to live in the past. We have to live for the now, in the present. The reason why that God called today the present is because it is a present from Him to us. Regardless, of how young we are or how old we get. I know there is a loving father who connects us all through Love. Not everyday Love, but spiritual Love. God wants us to know on how much we are loved, truly. Every ticking of the clock, every heart beat that is pumped through our veins. Know that every breath counts. Every blink of your eye lid, a moment is captured for eternity. We say for better or worse in marital vows. When i personally believe that line alone is a promise from God granted us the ability to Love accordingly and freely. The story of Benjamin Button based off of a real life phenomina. That the ability to Love someone so deeply that God so loved us, that we should do the same for others. Many dont believe in God. Okay, well what i can say to the non-believer is that they cant deny that Love is God. Love conqours all. Love overcomes fear hands down. So, if you are moved and reminded by this movie, that as a deep connection through experience, memories, happenings that we all have meaning on Earth. I can passionately tell you. I dont know you, but I love you for being you. I want to thank you for that. All i ask in your endeavors is this. Never stop Loving, even in the hardest moments. When you lose a loved one through sickness, illness, cancer; old age, through the passing. Know that the very same love that they have given you. Is eternal, it last forever. Never give up Hope, Faith and Trust for one and another. Time here on earth is indeed temprorary, but Love is eternal, even in Death do us part.

I hadn't really been very interested in watching this for some reason but, eventually, I got around to it. I wish I'd seen it sooner, such a great movie. In many ways it reminded me of Forrest Gump, a compelling human story overlaying decades of history. I think this is more touching on a personal level, you can't help but get completely involved with the characters. Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and Taraji Henson all put in amazing performances. Even though it's a long movie, at the end I was wishing it would go on longer. I wasn't ready to leave the characters. If you're not sure about this movie go ahead, take the chance and watch it. You won't regret it.

First product received had a cracked case, even though the Mylar was unbroken. I didn’t want to chance the disc being damaged so Amazon exchanged it. The second Blu-Ray came in proper condition. It did, however skip in my Series X in one scene, but at this point, I’m just judging the movie itself.

I’ve loved this movie since the first time I watched it. I will not compare it to Forrest Gump because they aren’t comparable to me. This movie was engaging in so many levels. The atmosphere. The character’s and acting. The world building. But most of all, Alexandre Desplat’s beautiful soundtrack. It sets the tone through the movie, whether your jazzin’ to the upbeat sounds of the southern quarters, To being mesmerized by Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carasoul composition, and finally to two pieces of orchestral masterpieces. The haunting aural sounds of “Nothing last” to the romance fueled “Sunrise on Lake Pontchartrain”. (Not accurate to the scenes, just my opinion of my takeaway when listening to them separate from the source material.)

These reasons and many many more are why it has made the List of 1001 movies you must see before you die.

The metaphor of the train station clock being made to run backwards is very apt for this movie. It is really about Benjamin, Daisy and their daughter Caroline. The visual effects are outstanding, and the make up showing the age progressions and regressions are top notch without being phony. It deserves the Oscars it got. Benjamin’s mother dies during childbirth, and baby Benjamin was considered super ugly, and abandoned by his father, and winds up being raised in a senior’s home, obviously of meager means. But that is where his new mother gave him all the love and care. And he regresses from being very old to a baby who essentially dies of old age. He meets Daisy when she is about ten, and carries a fondness for her. The story is related by Caroline, at the bedside of her dying mother reading a diary of what happened between them. It is a very warm feeling movie, but also a quite long movie which some may not care for.

Bears no resemblance to the original story, even the time period – except that the main character ages in reverse. (The original is more concerned with Benjamin's treatment by his father, wife and society in general. It's also bizarrely humorous, describing a fully-size old man being treated like a baby, going to kindergarten and getting kicked, and trying to enter college -- he had to wait until his 50s to get in. And it's he that grows tired of his wife in the book, as he's getting younger and she becomes an old nag).

Very slow, very long, as they tried to cram in too much stuff. Submarine scene was ridiculous Hollywood nonsense and seemed inserted from a whole different movie. No idea why they had to set the present day during Hurricane Katrina either.

Benjamin (Pitt) seemed like a sweet fellow but had a rather flat affect throughout -- possibly due to all the heavy makeup. It seems he would have felt incredibly excited gaining strength and having the tremendous energy of middle-age/youth, then much more anguish later, as well as intense pain at leaving his child. None of this is shown. Cate Blanchett did a fine job with a rather vain, seductive and boring character. (Pretty hard to watch her in tears about aging when she's forty and has radiant, creamy skin and a lithe figure!)

In all, too much plot and too little character development. Although it was OK to 'zone out' to for nearly 3 hours.

I’d always heard about this movie but this is the first time I’d seen it. I had no idea that Benjamin Button/Brad Pitt was raised by Taraji P. Henson. Or that her love was Mahershala Ali. (The two would be re-united in Hidden Figures years later). Henson’s character is a woman full of love. There’s one scene where Button holds her hand at night and calls her “mama.” It’s so touching. In fact, love is the theme of the movie. First it’s Button’s love of life. Then it’s love for Cate Blanchett who he met when she was a little girl and knew she was the one. It gets more emotional as the story progresses and connections are made between the main characters. It really is a special story.