In a word: Magical, especially for film buffs...

Rating: 8/10 (7 March 2012)

HUGO is a magical treat from start to finish, beginning with its marvelous open tracking shot of a Paris railroad station in the '30s. From then on, there's a treasure of masterful photography involved in the telling of a boy who lives in a train station and, in the eventive tradition of his father, keeps the huge clock and its machinery working.
The boy is played with great sensitivity by Asa Butterfield in what has to be one of the best child performances ever. He carries the film and never lets the momentum stop as he scurries around the train station trying to avoid the overzealous clutches of a crippled station master (Sacha Baron Cohen) and his fearsome dog. It's reminiscent of the innocent Olivier Twist and David Copperfield trying to avoid the clutches of the laws that rule orphans.
All of the behind-the-scenes glimpses of the whirling machinery inside the clock are an added visual treat, creating the illusion of suspense and danger whenever the plot demands it. As the girl whom Hugo befriends and shares his knowledge of the automaton with, Chlore Grace Moretz is equally charming and natural. Their chemistry helps the film's most pivotal moments work beautifully.
A much needed sense of humor is helped enormously by the contribution of Sacha Baron Cohen, whose station master emerges as one of the story's most interesting characters. Emily Mortimer is touching as a woman he admires and Christopher Lee does a standout job as the librarian who takes an interest in furthering Hugo's education.
The story's thread is slight, but the film is full of such complex images and turbulent events surrounding the boy's precarious situation that it remains an absorbing tale of an orphan who proves to be a most resourceful lad in keeping one step ahead of the authorities.
Then too, it's a backstory of the famous cinema inventor Georges Melies, who had the imagination to become one of film's most inventive craftsmen in the early 1900s. Glimpses of his work are seen throughout the film and Ben Kingsley is a perfect choice to play this complex man. His scenes with Hugo are extremely touching.
And finally, I must end with a word of high praise for Martin Scorsese who lends his own magical touch to the proceedings to create one of the year's best films for the child in all of us with all of its wonders underscored by Howard Shore's lovely background score.