August Rush (Movie Review: 3 out of 5)

You don't have to be a music lover to enjoy this movie. However, you must be prepared to accept all the freaky coincidences and odd circumstances that play around the main protagonist of the film.

The hero (August Rush, aka Evan Taylor) is an orphan who is driven to find his birth parents. He's a music prodigy who has the "gift of listening to the world". Thanks to this gift, he is reunited with his family at the end.

It's a modern day fairy tale of sorts -- we have a young boy who gets thrown into a cruel/nasty world (aka New York City). But thanks to his musical talent, he meets people (like a character named "Wizard") who either helped or exploited him along the way. But August stays true to himself and his dream does come true.

Jen loved the film while I found it just okay. It's a feel good movie with a nice soundtrack, but there are better "feel good" movies out there. The only point that I found interesting were the movie's attempt to portray the "underground society" of New York through the eyes of children. We see the flaws and the issues of the child welfare system and how many runaway kids get used and exploited off the streets. August was lucky that he had the magical talent to get himself out of the gutter. I pity the other kids who got left behind.