Awash in bold colors, bright patterns and ebullient kids, director Ava DuVernay’s new take on “A Wrinkle in Time” dazzles its way across time and space even if it doesn’t quite stick the landing. A psychedelic journey for 6-year-olds of all ages, this big-screen adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s classic novel offers trippy delights without defying the novel’s “unfilmable” reputation.
Still, DuVernay and screenwriters Jennifer Lee (“Frozen”) and John Stockwell (“Bridge to Terabithia”) give it their all, imbuing as much epic grandeur as they can into a story that seems to take place over the course of a languid afternoon. Audiences willing to forgive the script flaws in “The Wizard of Oz” — why doesn’t Glinda tell Dorothy right away that the slippers can take her home? — will be rewarded with an extravaganza of larger-than-life characters and mind-bending locations if they extend the same slack to “A Wrinkle in Time.”