Curate's Egg - Good in parts

Rating: 8/10 (1 November 2017)

I didn't read reviews of this film before seeing it. I note that the critics loved it but the users think its a bit of an emperor's new clothes thing.
So let's start by stating that I, like a lot of 50 somethings, thought that the original was something really special.
I was surprised to read that on it's original release it was not a commercial success... but clearly with hindsight the original's reputation has grown.
But to the new film.
I think it has a lot of flaws and like a lot of sequels it has to chart a difficult course between comparisons with its predecessor and making its own mark.
It's too long and its too slow. There are many examples whereby it is referring to the original in its drama, its structure and its plot development and it feels like that reference is not useful.
I also think the reason users do not like it is that they probably expect the kind of visceral excitement that other films in this genre provide...but the original was always cerebral rather than visceral....
The sound design was very loud and made an attempt at experimenting with the 5:1 surround sound, I guess to add excitement to what was fairly turgid plot development. However, the central vision that corporations are gradually destroying human life, that 'man' is downgraded and the Nexus robots, although starting out as slaves, now perceive that they have rights, which the corporations are frightened to acknowledge is extremely percipient.
So on that level the plot develops themes from the original, which I think is a good thing.
I've given it a 8/10 because we should reward film makers who are ambitious and go against the trend but I think as a stand alone film it would probably score lower. I enjoyed the 2+ hours in the cinema and I'm glad someone found the finance to make this, I wished they'd made it shorter and that would have strengthened it as an cinematic experience.