Uneven mish mash makes a bit of a mess

Rating: 6/10 (20 June 2016)

It's hard to put a finger on the problem with this movie. It is watchable but difficult to get through. The pacing is all over the show. Was that the editor or the director? One minute it's a children's fantasy movie, the next it's a history lesson on the birth of cinema reading from a text book, that will go right over the heads of it's child audience. There is some stunning cinematography here, all the shots of the automaton are jaw dropping, the station too, and there's some great acting too , Chloe just oozes vibrancy into her role, conveys a sincerity and believable quality to her performance, and Asa has his moments too. Is it the script that drags them through too much filler to keep it up though, or was that the editor holding too long on that thought shot? Certainly we should expect more from Scorsese, or maybe he can only do violent adult movies, There are some really good ideas in this movie, but they don't fit together very well as a whole. They were trying for 'something' but maybe a simpler approach would have made a more mesmerising result.