Hugo is a No Go

Rating: 4/10 (23 February 2012)

I'm going to go against the grain on this one. Maybe it is because I didn't see this in 3D, but, then again, that would tend to make one pay more attention to the story than the effects. And, in truth, there isn't much of a story in this attempt to emulate a Dickens novel. The non 3D effects, the re-creation of early 20th Century Paris are excellent, the review of early cinema pioneers, enlightening, but you can't hold a movie together on these factors alone.
I know there are those who see great symbolism in the man/machine comparison, but this has been addressed in other movies with more success. One of the problems is that the movie is trying to be all things to all people. It tries to please young viewers with adventures within clocks and magical mechanical men while it tries to please older viewers with information on George Melies and overdone symbolism. In the end, it does neither. I watched this with my 10 year old son who had trouble staying awake. It was the one thing we had in common.
The acting is lukewarm. Unlike a good Dickens story, there really is no villain. Sacha Baron Cohen is unconvincing. Ben Kingsley is wasted talent. The kids are irritating. I just hoped the movie would end so that I could get on with more interesting things like cleaning the lint trap in my washing machine.
Scorsese's talent was likewise wasted here. I would pay to see him do a documentary on early film makers or his favorite films, because he has clearly dedicated his life to this study, and anything he put together would surely be fascinating. However, this should not have been done in the context of what is billed as being a family film.