Burton is The Fisher King!

Rating: 8/10 (18 June 2004)

Director Tim Burton's surreal & illusionary cinematic techniques have taken us to mystical lands such as: Gotham City, Planets of Apes, Scissor Worlds, Edywood, and Mars. However, mainstream film buffs have been appalled by Burton's outlandish direction. Along comes `Big Fish', Burton's latest flick. Without a doubt, this is Burton's most mainstream film. `Big Fish' will hook those conservative moviegoers along with Burton's cult fanatics. Ewan Mcgregor stars as Ed Bloom. Ed is definitely not a late `bloomer' because of his vivid life and the eccentric characters he befriends along the way. Albert Finney co-stars as the late `bloomer; or should I say the older Ed Bloom who tells his suspicious off-center life tales to his estranged son. The tales might sound fishy to his son Will, played by Billy Crudup, but he listens to them because of his dad's near mortal condition. Alison Lohman, Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Carter, and Danny Devito round out the acting pond in this thespian school of fish. `Big Fish' possesses sentimental humanistic elements unseen in Burton's previous films. The film, which runs to 130 minutes, could have been shorter in duration but `Big Fish' is still worth the bait. **** Good