Mildly Entertaining - especially for Tim Burton/Johnny Depp fans.

Rating: 6/10 (12 May 2012)

I have never seen the TV series of Dark Shadows but have seen all of the movies that Tim Burton had directed (all except Ed Wood, one of TB's finest, yet don't ask me why.) Compared with his more recent movies, I would put Dark Shadows somewhere between Sweeney Todd and Charlie & The Chocolate Factory/Alice in Wonderland in terms of entertainment value and classic Tim Burton.
However, I must admit that due to the poor reviews by critics, the movie's poor trailer and the memory of disappointment generated from seeing his last few movies, I went to see this one with much lowered expectations.
During the first half of the movie, I was mildly entertained and was thinking:"This isn't so bad, I'm quite liking it." Perhaps the best part was its middle, when we were treated with a montage displaying the high point of the film - when Barnabas has just been inducted into the Collins family and was seen taking charge in reviving the family to its former wealth and glory. The segment was appropriately accompanied by The Carpenters song "Top of the World."
Unfortunately, as the name of that song suggests for us - there is only one way to go when you are at the top of the world - and hence the movie just went downhill from there on. It became neither funny nor serious, character-driven nor plot driven. It just doesn't know where to go and became quite a mess that stopped building interest for the audience. It became a personal performance reel for Johnny Depp's Barnabas.
With all said, I still think the movie isn't bad, there are some endearing aspects that is hard for me to put into words. Maybe it's nostalgia, maybe it's Tim Burton's resistance of growing up as an artist/director. The odd thing is, I don't wish for anything better despite its flaws.