great story, good graphics, bad directing

Rating: 5/10 (19 November 2005)

I like this movie/book series a lot. I thought each movie was getting better and better. The third was really great, and had a cool dark/gritty feel to it, and everything flowed nicely in it. In this one, I think the director really was just a bad pick.
Not surprisingly, all the scenes relating to relationships, etc, are pretty good and funny. Newell had already shown ability here. But the movie has many more other elements in it, all of which Newell has apparently no ability.
The special effects are good of course, but nowadays, that really should be a given. The movie is kinda dark I guess, but misses the gritty feel of the last one. And worst of all, it all seems rushed and chaotic. The movie just seems like a graphic paraphrasing of the book. So this happened, then this, then this and this...and...the end. I was really disappointed, especially by the end.