A Wrinkle in Time (PG)
Directed by Ava Du Vernay

ITS premise may be a simple one — good versus evil, light versus dark, with the power of love winning the day — but it is this film's strong and relentless heroine, coupled with its exquisite and breathtaking visuals, that will captivate and blow away its tween audience.

A Wrinkle in Time is based on Madeleine L’Engle’s timeless classic about middle-school student Meg (Storm Reid) who, accompanied by younger brother Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) and friend/secret crush Calvin (Levi Miller), is sent on a life-changing quest by three celestial beings (Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling) to rescue her renowned physicist father (Chris Pine).

He's fallen into the clutches of IT, an evil entity that is devouring worlds and is heading for Earth.

Reid (Twelve Years a Slave) is perfect as the cynical, moody and troubled tween who feels like a fish out of water ever since her dad disappeared four years earlier.

Reid holds her own opposite the tour de force that is Winfrey as Mrs Which, the eldest of the three guides who first appears in giant form and later admits that she comes in different sizes — oh, the irony — Witherspoon as Mrs Whatsit, the youngest of the three, and Kaling as Mrs Who, who speaks through others' famous words.

McCabe is borderline annoying as Meg's ridiculously precocious and all-knowing little brother Charles Wallace, while Miller provides sweet and charismatic support.

Directed by Ava DuVernay (Selma), this wildly ambitious sci-fi fantasy and coming-of-age adventure is full of colourful and eclectic characters and it's a stunning visual feast. While it doesn't quite fulfil its promising potential, you can't argue with its message that strength comes from embracing your own individuality.

The uplifting tone, though, can't dispel the sense that IT is already here in the real world. If only we could fold time and escape or enlist the help of a giant Winfrey.