As far as pure eye candy goes the movie is definitely a cinematic joy!

Rating: 7/10 (7 December 2011)

'HUGO': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)
Martin Scorsese tries his hand at 3D and kids' films with this 1930s adventure. It's an adaptation of the 2007 book 'The Invention of Hugo Cabret' by Brian Selznick about an orphan living in the walls of a Paris train station trying to solve a mysterious secret left to him by his deceased father. The screenplay was written by John Logan and the film stars Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Emily Mortimer and Jude Law. The movie should captivate most children and the visuals are amazing but it's a little too slow paced and emotionally uninvolving to hold the attention of most moviegoers I'd say.
Butterfield makes an impressive leading man as Hugo Cabret, an orphan who's father (Law, who we see only in flashbacks) left him a notebook and a nonfunctioning automation with a lock with no key. Hugo now lives in the walls of a Paris train station (in the 30s) fixing clocks and gets by through petty theft. One day he's busted trying to steal from the owner of a toy shop, Georges Melies (Kingsley), who in turn steals his notebook from him (along with all his stolen possessions). He befriends the toy shop owner's granddaughter, Isabelle (Moretz), in an attempt to win back his notebook and the two begin an adventure to solve his father's secret. While doing so they also must avoid the station inspector (Cohen) who loves snatching up orphans and sending them away to orphanages.
Scorsese once again masters all the technical aspects of the film (especially the visuals and the 3D is amazing) but the characters and story left me wanting more. The acting is all outstanding but I found the film just a little too emotionally distant and couldn't really relate to any of the characters that much. The heart of the film is in the right place though and Scorsese perfectly captures the look and feel of a classic 1930s kids' film. Like I said I'm sure young children will be more than fascinated by the movie but older teens, as well as adults, will probably be a little bored. It is slow paced but there's always something wonderful to look at; as far as pure eye candy goes the movie is definitely a cinematic joy!
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