Mixed reviews for 'wildly uneven' A Wrinkle in Time

It was filmed in New Zealand with an A-list cast that included Oprah Winfrey.

But early reviews for A Wrinkle in Time, an adaptation of Madeleine L'Engle's 1962 sci-fi novel, have been decidedly mixed.

Variety calls it "wildly uneven, weirdly suspenseless, and tonally all over the place".

But the Los Angeles Times calls it "an otherworldly glitter explosion of a movie, the kind of picture that wears its heart on its tie-dyed sleeve".

Starring Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling, and directed by Selma's Ava DuVernay, the big budget Disney movie was filmed in Wanaka in early 2017.

It follows Meg who is sent into space with her brother and friend to find her scientist father.

On Metacritic, the film has a 55 per cent approval rating.

Read what the critics are saying:

"This Wrinkle in Time is undoubtedly flawed, wildly uneven and apt to tie itself in narrative knots in a quest to wow you with sheer Technicolor weirdness. It's also undeniably DuVernay's movie as much as Disney's, and works best when she puts her feminine energy, high-flying freak flag and sense of empathy front and center."

- Rolling Stone

"By turns gorgeous, propulsive and feverishly overwrought, A Wrinkle in Time is an otherworldly glitter explosion of a movie, the kind of picture that wears its heart on its tie-dyed sleeve."

-Los Angeles Times

"It almost doesn't matter that the movie is too emotionally prescriptive to have any real power, or too high on imagination to leave any room for wonder; DuVernay evinces such faith in who she is and what she's doing that A Wrinkle in Time remains true to itself even when everything on screen reads false."

-Indiewire

"Movie magic is an elusive thing. A Wrinkle in Time is a bold film that takes big chances from start to finish, in a courageous effort to be something special.... But for all its scenes of characters flying and soaring and zooming here and there, it never really takes off."

-Chicago Sun-Times

"Director Ava DuVernay's version of the beloved children's classic has a big cast and the best of intentions. It's socially progressive, racially diverse and packed with positive messages. It's just not much fun."

-New York Daily News

"A Wrinkle in Time is wildly uneven, weirdly suspenseless, and tonally all over the place, relying on wall-to-wall music to supply the missing emotional connection and trowel over huge plot holes."

-Variety

"The film is tentative and over-protective, as though it's terrified that a story empowering kids to help good battle evil could give someone a nightmare. It reduces the whole universe to one girl's self-esteem."

- The Guardian

A Wrinkle in Time is released on April 12.