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‘IF’ Review: John Krasinski’s Ryan Reynolds-Starring Children’s Tale Has a Classical Look, but Messy World-Building

Despite a star-studded voice cast and a terrific lead in Cailey Fleming, John Krasinski's animation-live action hybrid 'IF' doesn’t feel magical.

After a quick glance at her once-happy life with both her parents still alive — a sequence directed by Krasinski like a timeless storybook — we follow Bea as she moves in with her grandmother (Fiona Shaw) in the same neighborhood, after her dad falls ill with a mysterious condition (conscientiously never spelled out) and checks into a hospital. And once at the center, we realize we are witnessing perhaps the most star-studded ensemble cast of the year, with the IFs voiced by the likes of Louis Gossett Jr., Matt Damon, Maya Rudolph, Emily Blunt, Bradley Cooper, Jon Stewart, Sam Rockwell, Awkwafina, George Clooney and more. Everything from the magical lens of frequent Steven Spielberg DP Janusz Kamiński to Jess Gonchor’s opulent production design and Michael Giacchino’s disarmingly melancholic score beg for a film with as much writerly finesse to rise to the occasion.

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