nikolai
First Post
I enjoyed watching this. It's been slated by the critics, I think for three reasons:
(1) Because it's the definitive example of Holywood trying to cash in on a big-name property.
(2) For being dull (lots of watching people solve puzzles).
(3) For having no character development, and being a bit melodramatic.
It's perfectly true that there are lots of very talented people attached to this film, and that they're all working well below their ability, presumably for the money. You do get the sense that their time would be better spent doing something more highbrow. (I was stuck by just how amazing Paul Bettany would have been as Elric, and also by the tragedy that thanks to this film he's out of contention for the role.)
But I enjoyed it. Perhaps you can complain about the shallowness of the characters if you only watch stuff like A Beautiful Mind and Brokeback Mountain, and were expecting something similar, but I've willingly gone into the cinema to watch stuff like Van Helsing and Stealth. I suppose some people would have found the puzzle solving dull, but I enjoyed the way the special effects montages were used to liven things up. They were certainly cleverer and more interesting than the puzzles.
So I liked it. I'll certainly watch it again when it's released on DVD. I think what I liked the most was that it was different. I've seen so many cookie-cutter action films and thrillers, they all sort of blur together. At least this was trying to do its own thing.
(1) Because it's the definitive example of Holywood trying to cash in on a big-name property.
(2) For being dull (lots of watching people solve puzzles).
(3) For having no character development, and being a bit melodramatic.
It's perfectly true that there are lots of very talented people attached to this film, and that they're all working well below their ability, presumably for the money. You do get the sense that their time would be better spent doing something more highbrow. (I was stuck by just how amazing Paul Bettany would have been as Elric, and also by the tragedy that thanks to this film he's out of contention for the role.)
But I enjoyed it. Perhaps you can complain about the shallowness of the characters if you only watch stuff like A Beautiful Mind and Brokeback Mountain, and were expecting something similar, but I've willingly gone into the cinema to watch stuff like Van Helsing and Stealth. I suppose some people would have found the puzzle solving dull, but I enjoyed the way the special effects montages were used to liven things up. They were certainly cleverer and more interesting than the puzzles.
So I liked it. I'll certainly watch it again when it's released on DVD. I think what I liked the most was that it was different. I've seen so many cookie-cutter action films and thrillers, they all sort of blur together. At least this was trying to do its own thing.