Bully (2018) - One of the most uplifting films I've seen lately

Holy moly - how good was this film?  It's rare that after nearly half a century I'm actually blown away with something I've watched.  In a world populated by superheroes fighting faceless computer-generated armies up against the backdrop of a giant skybeam, a film like this somehow has more heart (and hope!) for the human race than every caped crusader ever to hit the silver screen.

As the title suggests, this film is about a 'bully' (actually, more a trio of bullies, but we'll forgive the titular inaccuracy), or - more importantly - the victim of one.  A young, overweight schoolboy with wavy ginger hair finds himself a target for a particularly nasty classmate.  After taking a beating in the street, our portly protagonist is saved by a man who offers to help him learn to defend himself.  What follows is his journey as he becomes a boxer - or rather learns enough moves to dodge and throw a punch (which comes in handy when in the school grounds!).

There's very little that I can say is negative about this film.  What I really enjoyed was how 'natural' all the characters were.  It would be easy to take the easy - dramatic - decisions in terms of where the plot went, but nothing is exaggerated in terms of story and how characters react.  Every time I thought something stupid was going to happen, something completely normal and relatable took place.  I'm sure while I was watching I spotted a few minor gripes, but this is a case where there is so much that's right, whatever small downsides pale in comparison.  I guess the bullies themselves are not very three dimensional - they're effectively the same stereotypical bullies you've seen in every other movie.  Plus the gay characters are a little cliched, but at least they get a small amount of character growth where you'll enjoy cheering their input on towards the end.

This is one of the most simple little films every made recently.  That's not a downside, as it's actually pretty much as perfect as any film can be.  Watch it when you need a dose of watching good claw its way to defeating evil.

8/10 The Force is definitely strong with this one