Wonder | Teen Ink

Wonder

November 13, 2018
By MovieReviewer_18 ELITE, Short Hills, New Jersey
MovieReviewer_18 ELITE, Short Hills, New Jersey
678 articles 0 photos 8 comments

Wonder is a movie based off of R.J. Palacio's best-selling book of the same name, and it shows what life is like in a typical American middle school. Because a boy named Auggie has Treacher Collins Syndrome, he's different from everybody else. He has had 27 surgeries on his face, but his face still doesn't look like the average kid's face. Auggie's mom, who is also his homeschooling teacher, suggests that Auggie should go to school this year, because it is fifth grade, and everyone is going to be new at the middle school. Up until this point, Auggie hasn't gone to regular school, but his parents think that he should go at some point, and going sooner rather than later will make it that much easier. 
 

During the middle of the summer, Auggie is invited to the middle school to get a tour of the school that is being conducted by three kids his age. After going on the tour and seeing the school, Auggie soon learns that school is going to be a challenge with the other kids, especially one named Julian. 
 However, after the first few days of school, which don't go so great, Auggie befriends a kid named Jack Will, and after getting to know Auggie, Jack and him get pretty close. They have good times and are good friends until Jack makes a crucial mistake and jeopardizes their friendship. Auggie soon feels friendless, helpless, and weak until he befriends a girl named Summer, and this new buddy changes everything. 


 Meanwhile, Auggie's sister, Olivia, is going through issues of her own in high school, because her best friend is no longer talking to her, and she struggles in life, because she feels that her parents don't pay any attention to her. She feels that Auggie is the sun, and that everyone else is planets revolving around the sun. The issues that occur in high school are affecting her, and she feels that she has no one to go to after their grandma died. Together, Auggie and Olivia do their best to make it through one crazy year that will forever impact their lives. 
 Wonder is really well done throughout, and it truly elucidates really problems that occur in American schools. The beginning of the movie starts things off brilliantly and manages to instantly get viewers hooked, while also managing to stay close to the events that occur in the book. The middle of the movie progresses the movie's events nicely and successfully accomplishes its goals of creating some suspenseful drama and intensity. The actors mesh well together, and Owen Wilson as Auggie's dad is really believable. The enticing ending of the movie is able to tie the very beginning of the movie with last few scenes to create a cohesive tale that ends things emotionally. 

 Wonder truly is heartwarming and is sure to make some cry. Although parts of the movie are little depressing,the movie is a good fit for a wide variety of ages and is a good fit for just about anyone and everyone. Wonder is a great choice for families and is definitely a movie that young kids will find entertaining and enjoyable. 

 Not only do viewers view Wonder as a success, but critics also were satisfied. Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie a fairly high 84%, and IMDb gave the movie a roughly-the-same 8/10. However, a whopping 95% of Google users liked the movie, helping to demonstrate how scores of different people found contentment in the movie. Wonder shows the world the power of friendship and how it doesn't matter what's on the outside, but what really matters is what's on the inside. 


The author's comments:

“What evil man created dodgeball?” - Auggie


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