If you call this film a masterpiece, you're wrong.

Rating: 2/10 (5 December 2011)

After reading many reviews on IMDb itself and seeing "Hugo" being given 8's, 9's and 10's everywhere I just had to see this movie. The fact that Martin Scorsese was given $170,000,000 to make this film raised my expectations and made me even more intrigued. So when I payed £10 to watch this film (in 3D) the bar was raised even higher.
From the start of the film though, nothing is made clear, and I'm not a fan of what children call "acting" so for the first 10 - 20 minutes I wasn't impressed. But I thought "it's going to open up, something will happen that is going to make this movie incredible!". But, unfortunately, that moment never came. The story and script was bland leaving no room for anticipation as well boring the audience. Seriously, I saw this film with my brother and no one in the screen looked remotely interested. And that's because this is a BORING film. OK there's the odd chase and a few funny moments but for the first hour, literally, all that the film is is a little boy running round operating clocks! Which I'm sure a child would love to see! After all isn't that what cinema is all about for children? Going to watch clocks being worked on? John Logan (screenplay writer) seems to think so.
From then on the film takes you nowhere and the "journey" that the trailer claims is really just a boy running from the station inspector who is played by Sacha Baron Cohen. Now not only is he funny, but he's the only reason why I didn't walk out of the cinema. His part is played superbly as the dark side of a "baddy" is mixed with ridiculousness. If it weren't for him then this really would have been the worst film I have ever seen.
But I suppose that's what annoyed me most about "Hugo", the fact that Scorsese has been a legendary character when it comes to film! Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, Shutter Island and Gangs of New York were all brilliant films and now, I feel, that Scorsese has let himself down. The 3D was OK, but in reality it was a film about a boy called Hugo, when really, he didn't do anything at all in 2 hours.
Scorsese's first Children's movie is more of a disappointment, not a masterpiece.