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It
pains me to write this review as I'm a big fan of Terry Gilliam...big
fan. This movie is plainly and simply bad. I don't know if it's Heath
Ledger and Matt Damon's inability to deliver the words on the page in
a compelling way, or simply the writing...but I'm going to blame the
writing. That way I don't have to throw barbs at Gilliam, Ledger, or
Damon, all of whom I like. The writer however is Ehren Kruger who has
had his hits (The Ring, The Ring Two, Arlington Road) and his
misses (this one, Reindeer Games, Imposter). But honestly,
he's done more good work than bad (at least as far as the public is
concerned...I don't care for The Ring films), and the concept
for this one is absolute genius! I can see how Gilliam was drawn to
it, but the results of their efforts are disjointed at best. There's
almost none of the humor that one would expect in a Gilliam reigned
fantasy film. And although some of the effects are cool (the walking
forest comes to mind) others are abysmal (the morphing werewolf, the
queen/mirror effects). The first 10-15 minutes of the film are fun and
will lead you to believe that you're in for a good ride, but trust me,
it goes downhill from there. After seeing the disaster that was Lost
in LaMancha where Gilliam's film imploded in less than a week,
I had high hopes for whatever project he did next...and this is it.
Well, that may not be the actual chronology as this is one of many Miramax
films that had been shelved until Miramax recently closed its doors.
So now they're trying to recoup their investments on several films that
have been gathering dust, and this is one of them. Don't know how long
it sat on the shelf (it was filmed in 2003), but after having viewed
it, it's obvious why it was there. What should have been a fantastic
romp is less than fun and that's just sad. I hope you'll trust me on
this one, and wait to rent it on DVD if you're at all curious. At least
then we'll get some DVD extras...which will probably be more entertaining
than the film itself.
- veg |
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