Finch ★★★

Miguel Sapochnik

Starring Tom Hanks, Caleb Landry Jones

Set in an eerily imaginable post-apocalyptic world with zero ozone layer left to protect earth, Tom Hanks leads as the title character Finch (along with a tiny cast) through a world where Earth is nearly uninhabitable. We meet Finch as he makes his final touches to a robot built to protect his dog after he’s gone.

Apple TV+ have released a slew of movies that look fantastic and Finch is perhaps the best yet. The scenery is epic, the CGI or animatronics are second to none (I honestly couldn’t figure out if some of the robotics were real or not at times). It’s impressive that a straight to streaming movie has as cinematic a feel as this does. For me, that is the best part about it.

The story itself is fairly straightforward, although there is a confidence and charm in the fact that there are no huge gun battles or budget guzzling set pieces to tick the plot along. It really is a simple buddy story set in a huge sci-fi world; for that reason this is a good family film. Stick this on during your movie nights and pretty much everyone will have a good time. Having said that though, the simplicity works against itself at times with a cheesy script and equally cheesy plot points.

It goes without saying that this movie stars Tom Hanks (damn, I already said it earlier didn’t I). The film seems more confident because of him, but equally there’s a sense that it’s relying on his broad appeal and 100% hit rate to get it across the line. Even Hanks can’t quite save the story, but he gives it a good shot.

Some amazing looks, fantastic robot work and one cute dog, Finch is worth a watch but doesn’t quite hit the emotional punches it sets out to land.

Finch available now on APPLE TV+