Good but could have been way better: 7/10

Rating: 7/10 (11 March 2004)

I am a huge Tim Burton fan. I am a sucker for stories of unbounded imagination. I love warm feelings.
Well, this film has a bit of all - but it could have been way better, I think. Yes there is the Burton touch, but far from at its best. Yes there is some imagination, but far from being imaginative - if I dare say. Many of the imaginary (or not) events and places are modestly surprising, when I was expecting much more (remember Terry Gilliam's Adventures of Baron Munchausen - now THAT was wild, and in the end also the doubters were in for a surprise). Even the warm feelings, while there, and the father and son story, while there, are a bit diluted, not as efficient as they might have been in the hands of a Tim Burton at his best.
I guess it just goes to show that even Tim Burton cannot always get it fully right - and/or it goes to show that Tim Burton has continuously raised our expectations about his talent, which increases the risk of disappointment.