Visually Stunning but Ultimately a Bore.

Rating: 6/10 (27 December 2011)

Going into "Hugo," the great Martin Scorcese 3D opus, I had not read what it was actually about. I just heard that it was a spectacular film with some incredible use of 3D, I knew it was nominated for three Golden Globes and, hell, it is directed by Scorcese.
To be honest, as much as I knew it was going to be a child-friendly adventure, I thought it was some sort of sci-fi film that had a robot. Um. No.
What it is is a visually stunning 3D ode to the art form Scorcese loves the most: film.
The title character is not the robot...it is rather a twelve-year old named Hugo Cabret, played by an excellent Asa Butterfield ("Boy in the Striped Pyjamas") who, after the loss of his mother and then the subsequent loss of his watchmaker father (Jude Law is beginning to pop up everywhere again....), Hugo ends up alone, living in the train station, setting the clocks as per his uncle's instruction....and uncle that disappears as well, leaving a young Hugo to his own devices.
At the time of his father's death, he and Hugo were working on reanimating an automaton and thus, Hugo not only steals food, but parts as well in an attempt to finish the work he had started with dad...and in the process, opens up a "mystery" involving an old toy shop owner (Ben Kingsley) and his daughter (the incredibly talented Chloe Grace Morentz proving what an incredible actress she is by mastering a British accent at such a young age).
And the "mystery" at hand is hardly one of the Bobsey Twins nature but rather leads to an admittedly educational and interesting, but not so entertaining, tie-in with real-life film pioneer Georges Melies.
"Hugo," an obvious labour of love for Scorcese, has all the right elements, from excellent performances (yes, even from a handsome Sacha Baron Cohen) to a well-written script to an exceptionally visually stunning 3D experience. The film could very well get Scorcese a couple more Oscar nominations under his belt.
But as I was expecting a film about robots and not a history lesson on film, despite the undeniable quality of the film making, bottom line? I found it a bore.