This reboot should have stayed in the box or in the factory where it was produced.

I just praised “Toy Story 4” for possessing the heart and imagination the other three movies, especially since I grew up with the original as a kid. Now frankly, I wish the people behind “Child’s Play” would have gotten that message sooner, because this reboot is unwanted on so many levels.

Let’s begin with the mom (Aubrey Plaza). She acts like a lousy teen, and barely shows any love and affection for her deaf son Andy (Gabriel Bateman). The only times I do buy it is when she hugs him, especially in the final act.

But that’s not the worst part. She has a mean boyfriend named Shane (David Lewis), who is actually a fornicating married man with two girls. He ends up getting his comeuppance when the evil doll Chucky murders him by breaking his two legs, and ripping his face off with a lawn mower.

Speak of the devil. Chucky is now voiced by Mark Hamill, and he looks weird. It’s the kind of weird that makes you want to laugh, and I did.

There’s a gap in the movie with hilarious scenes. When Chucky thinks a roll of toilet paper are Andy’s school books, when a kid asks him to stab a toy unicorn, saying: “This is for Tupac,” and when he gives Andy a broken stick for a present, I was laughing. This is actually comical stuff I’m seeing, but unfortunately, it has to end when the violence and stupidity take control.

The violence comes during the Lance murder scene, and there’s more. An apartment handyman gets stabbed by Chucky, hangs on a burning pipe, and falls to his demise on a table saw. And for a short while, Chucky replaces drone propellers with sharp blades to attack people in a department store. Sounds like “Saw” doesn’t it?

And the idiocy occurs when Chucky gives Andy a gift-a watermelon with Shane’s face pierced on it. So Andy has to wrap it up in birthday wrapping paper, lie to his mom about it being a gift for his neighbor, and she comes with him to give it to her. Seriously?!

And I hated how Brian Tyree Henry as the main cop is mistreated at times by his mom. He doesn’t deserved this. At least his payoff comes at the end of the movie.

The original “Child’s Play” had Brad Dourif in a fun, creepy voice, and the doll’s special effects were fine. But this movie feels more like a cash grab, aimed for a new generation. Especially since the doll has to act like a virtual assistant. There is no need for this reboot, and I’m sure many others would feel the same way.

⭐️1/2

Categories: Horror, Reboot, Thriller