While I am usually a sucker for fantasy adventure movies, we the audiences have been so flooded with them ever since the "Lord Of The Rings" trilogy emerged at the start of the century that one tends to greet a new one with a gasp rather than a cheer! With the film under review, it was similarly planned as a three-part saga but which got stalled after merely the first entry in the wake of its disappointing reception.
Having watched it for myself, I can say that I was not particularly engaged by the unfolding narrative - which was, at once, muddled and undernourished anyway. It feels like the film-makers were taking it easy here, hoping to be able to expand on the themes at its core in subsequent 'episodes' - but, since this was not to be, the end result unfortunately never gathers much in the way of momentum and strides along solely on the strength of its star cast and the undeniably spectacular visuals (the Visual Effects were even rewarded with an Academy Award).
Incidentally, given that I have once embarked on an infrequent review for this particular viewing, hints at the participation therein of the late great Sir Christopher Lee: at age 85, however, his contribution is restricted to one very brief exchange towards the beginning of the picture! Not that the rest of the name actors get to shine much, apart from slinky villainess Nicole Kidman (whereas ostensible leading man Daniel Craig barely registers, despite the prominence given him on the posters!). Though Sir Ian McKellen's unmistakable vocal rendition of a heroic polar bear is typically commanding, others like Sam Elliott's incongruous cowboy routine and Eva Green's surprisingly benign witch come across as eccentric while boasting little substance (read: apparent purpose) to the uninitiated. In fact, the real protagonist proves to be a child actress - who does reasonably well under the circumstances - but, as I said, she is defeated by the plot never standing a chance because it is kept so much in the background (the over-abundance of such colourful high-falutin' terms as "Magisterium", "Daemons" and "Gobblers" notwithstanding)...
Having watched it for myself, I can say that I was not particularly engaged by the unfolding narrative - which was, at once, muddled and undernourished anyway. It feels like the film-makers were taking it easy here, hoping to be able to expand on the themes at its core in subsequent 'episodes' - but, since this was not to be, the end result unfortunately never gathers much in the way of momentum and strides along solely on the strength of its star cast and the undeniably spectacular visuals (the Visual Effects were even rewarded with an Academy Award).
Incidentally, given that I have once embarked on an infrequent review for this particular viewing, hints at the participation therein of the late great Sir Christopher Lee: at age 85, however, his contribution is restricted to one very brief exchange towards the beginning of the picture! Not that the rest of the name actors get to shine much, apart from slinky villainess Nicole Kidman (whereas ostensible leading man Daniel Craig barely registers, despite the prominence given him on the posters!). Though Sir Ian McKellen's unmistakable vocal rendition of a heroic polar bear is typically commanding, others like Sam Elliott's incongruous cowboy routine and Eva Green's surprisingly benign witch come across as eccentric while boasting little substance (read: apparent purpose) to the uninitiated. In fact, the real protagonist proves to be a child actress - who does reasonably well under the circumstances - but, as I said, she is defeated by the plot never standing a chance because it is kept so much in the background (the over-abundance of such colourful high-falutin' terms as "Magisterium", "Daemons" and "Gobblers" notwithstanding)...