Wonderfully Whimsical

Rating: 8/10 (24 June 2006)

A wonderfully whimsical modern fairy tale from wonderfully whimsical director Tim Burton. Johnny Depp is perfect as the title character, a scientifically-engineered young man whose inventor (Vincent Price, in his final screen appearance) dies before Edward can receive real hands, leaving him with scissors as digits. Thanks to an overly helpful Avon lady, Edward is soon thrust from his castle into the real world - with all its marvels, cruelties and even romance. The stylish director has fashioned a film as pleasing to the eyes as it is to the imagination, complete with vibrant color, outrageous situations and bizarrely enjoyable characters.
Perhaps the biggest downside of "Edward Scissorhands" is that it tends to be overly sentimental and just a tad dark. While those elements work in heavy doses in other films, they tend to detract from what could have been a true masterpiece. Nevertheless, on the whole this is a solid fantasy that adults and not-so-young children will enjoy.