Sundance Review: Taika Waititi's 'Hunt For The Wilderpeople' Starring Sam Neill & Julian Dennison

By all accounts, New Zealand director Taika Waititi seems to be a very pleasant individual who, in turn, makes very pleasant movies. Waititi continues to ride that wave of pleasantry with “Hunt For The Wilderpeople,” a perfectly amicable dramedy that makes a concerted effort to avoid offending or provoking. And by extension of the film's unending niceness, Waititi has made a movie mired in the middle-ground, a terrain marred by the absence of innovation.

That same lack of ingenuity can't be said for Ricky (Julian Dennison), though, a precocious foster care child who is relocated to the home of Bella (Rima Te Wiata) and Hec (Sam Neill). Dubbed a delinquent by a child-services worker (Rachel House), Ricky quickly proves to be nothing but a little misguided. With an affinity for both Tupac and twinkies, it doesn't take long for Bella to warm to Ricky's eccentricities. However, when a tragedy strikes that threatens to ship Ricky to another home, the pudgy, funny child and Hec—a...