A little over two decades since acting opposite a volleyball in the Robert Zemeckis classic Cast Away (a performance which earned him his fifth out of six Oscar nominations), America’s dad Tom Hanks is back with a pair of unique co-stars in Finch (formerly known as BIOS), a heartwarming post-apocalyptic tale from Game of Thrones veteran Miguel Sapochnik, in which the legendary actor finds himself sharing center stage with a dog and a robot.
**This review contains mild spoilers from Finch**
Finch opens at an undetermined time in the future, in a world where the vast majority of humanity has been wiped out by a cataclysmic solar event. Finch (Hanks), a brilliant robotics engineer, is among the few sane survivors left on the planet, but unfortunately, his days are numbered. In an effort to ensure his dog Goodyear (Seamus) is looked after once he’s gone, he builds a sentient robot named Jeff (Caleb Landry Jones) to fulfill those responsibilities. However, getting his dog to trust a non-human lifeform is easier said than done. The unlikely family of three then embark on a transformative cross-country trip to the Golden Gate Bridge, as Finch does his best to navigate this dangerous new reality while teaching Jeff about what it truly means to be alive.
Since his debut film Repo Men in 2010, Sapochnik has made quite a name for himself as one of television’s finest directors, helming arguably some of the greatest episodes in the history of the medium in Game of Thrones' “Battle of the Bastards,” “Hardhome,” and “The Winds of Winter.” His success has unsurprisingly resulted in him becoming a far more confident talent behind the camera, which makes his sophomore feature all that more compelling. The story takes place over a few days, but he crafts each and every shot in such expert fashion that it feels like we’ve known this world and these characters for years. Even with a two-hour runtime, it never feels like a moment is wasted getting us from Point A to Point B, with each pitstop serving a specific purpose to give our characters additional depth as they try to reach their final destination before time runs out.
Under Sapochnik’s direction, cinematographer Jo Willems, who is best known for his work on Red Sparrow and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, realizes one of the most visually stunning post-apocalyptic landscapes in recent memory, mixing elements that make it simultaneously feel like a futuristic sci-fi story and an old-school western. Whether at night or day, the film is absolutely gorgeous to watch.
Tom Hanks is among America’s last true movie stars, and brings such a deep level of warmth and relatability to his role like only a talent of his caliber could. Finch is a gifted and confident engineer, but he hardly considers himself a hero of any sort, instead seeing himself as a coward that was just fortunate enough to survive the apocalypse, leaving him with an ample amount of survivor’s guilt to reconcile with. It’s an incredibly relatable feeling as we see Hanks teeter-totter between trying to teach his surrogate son how to be better than he was while still actively coping with his own past traumas. As the film progresses toward its climax, Hanks gets an opportunity to flex his acting muscles even further, seemingly offering life lessons not only to Jeff, but to us in the audience as well.
Caleb Landry Jones also delivers an exceptional performance as Finch’s robot, bringing an unexpected degree of emotion to a difficult role that is entirely mo-cap and features a robotic voice. He obviously can’t emote via facial or vocal cues, but Jones’ body language allows you to really get inside Jeff’s head as he learns and grow over the course of the film under Finch’s tutelage. The visual effects used to bring Jeff to life are flawless, and he honestly looks every bit as real as Hanks himself, which only enhances the film since there are no notable visual miscues that ever take you out of the moment.
Seamus as the rescue Goodyear is a very good boy.
While the film is primarily about their cross-country road trip, there are a few tension-filled moments leading into the emotional finale that will very likely have you on the edge of your seats. In a world where one small mistake can ruin everything - a lesson our heroes learn the hard way - it’s about how they persevere that makes all the difference. As the poet Santosh Kalwar once said, “Never stop just because you feel defeated. The journey to the other side is attainable only after great suffering.”
Finch is a heartwarming story about life, death, and everything in between. It pulls at your heartstrings while enveloping you completely in a dire new world where maybe it’s not entirely too late to hope again. A cross between Cast Away and The Martian (maybe even a spiritual successor to the former), Miguel Sapochnik adds another excellent entry to his growing resume, proving yet again why he’s swiftly becoming one of Hollywood’s most in-demand directors. Aided by the incomparable Tom Hanks, who gives us a moving throwback performance that reminds us exactly why he’s one of the greatest to ever command the screen.
Finch starts streaming, exclusively on Apple TV+, this Friday, November 5!