Captain Fantastic, more than anything, has novelty on its side. While some of the driving-force drama of family squabbles and disagreements about life aren't exactly groundbreaking, the characters and approach most certainly are, or are at least fairly close. The film is made of interesting juxtapositions, fascinating characters, and engaging insights into various stations in and perspectives on life. Performances are very detailed and nuanced from all -- including the children, who certainly have the hardest parts in the film -- and the film blends excellent pacing even at two hours with knowing direction and beautiful photography. Universal's Blu-ray features good video and audio. Extras are limited to a single featurette, but the movie does a good enough job of standing tall on its own without support from added content. Highly recommended.

A father raises his half dozen children in the wild to survive in the wild by teaching them hunting, fishing, clothing oneself and making shelter. He also teaches them foreign languages, literature, and science -- more than they would ever learn in schools appropriate for their ages. These intellectually bright and physically strong kids then, with their father, have to venture into the civilized world of fast food (it's not really food, they decide) and with everybody looking pretty sick since everybody is overweight by a lot. The reason for venturing into the civilized world gets revealed in the course of the movie. The movie is strongly critical of contemporary lifestyles and values.

This movie is a battle between two modern day child rearing choices. The first is allowing your children to be coddled, given participation medals, and go into a vegetative state with electronic media. The second is to isolate your child, home school them, and limit their social interactions with peers to the point that they become awkward. Are technology and the modern day conveniences we take for granted making us less intelligent, unhealthier and causing our social society to regress? You decide.

I watched all the reviews and listened to friends who said it was great. After all that I was still caught off guard by the movie. It's a very unique story. Extremely well told. Disturbing at times. - (like most families the dynamics are weird - but this family is to the extreme end - both immediate and extended) Fascinating movie and interesting discussion points. I loved it.

My husband and I saw this movie at the theater and we were mesmerized. It is beautifully scripted, acted and recorded. We couldn't stop thinking and talking about the movie for days after we saw it. It is the first movie that I have bought new in ages. I could watch it over and over and I very rarely ever watch a movie more than once.