An interesting and occasionally wonderful film from Scorsese, but it isn't for kids.

Rating: 8/10 (25 December 2011)

Scorsese's attempts at making his first "kids" movie is an admirable one. But the problem is the target demographics for Hugo has been misplaced. Very few young children under the age of ten are likely to enjoy this (though I'm sure there will be a few) because they maybe won't understand the story or wonder what is so interesting about the history of cinema. It just will not appeal to many. At first it does seem to be heading in a magical and mystical direction with the two kids Hugo (Asa Butterfield) and Isabelle (Chloe Moretz) who in the 1930s in Paris are trying to unlock the mystery of an automaton man who has a key shaped hole in his back. It does take a bit of time to build up to that moment and when it did I thought some sort of magical and fantasy world would open up, but it didn't. Not that I'm saying it wasn't interesting it certainly was; as in my first year at university I studied about the origins of cinema and I found the narrative fascinating in Hugo. To be fair there are certain elements of comedy and effects that may attract kids, but it won't be enough I think to keep their attention diverted for over two hours.
Anyway on the whole for me the story was interesting and unfolded well, though I will be honest there were points at the beginning before the mystery of the automaton man was solved where I was getting bored as it did begin a bit too slowly. There were also other points in the structure of the narrative that tended to get bogged down in sub-plots, which though weren't boring, was not necessary for the film. Like the station inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen) lusting after the flower women Lisette (Emily Mortimer). At the risk of sounding so negative though there was plenty about the film that I really enjoyed. Apart from the great story, the acting was excellent across the whole terrific choice of cast. Newcomer Asa Butterfield gives a wonderful performance as Hugo capturing the essence of his character, an orphan who loved his father and has a joy in building and running the clocks in the station. This gives his character some depth as well. The scenes in particular played between him and his father (Jude Law who gives a great cameo) are quite heartwarming. Chloe Moretz again delivers an excellent performance, building on from her already promising acting career from films like Kick-Ass and Let Me In proving once again she is one of the best up and coming child actresses in Hollywood.
Other members of the cast are equally mesmerising, Ben Kingsley as Georges Méliès probably gives the top performance of the movie as an old man working at a toy store in the station who feels haunted and sad after the end of his glorious film director career, but is transformed back to those days as Hugo and Isabelle solve the mystery. Cohen as the station inspector is surprisingly funny (given I'm not a fan of his more extreme comedy) and shows a vulnerable side with his leg injury from world war 1, which he overcomes with courage. Terrific cameos are also provided by Emily Mortimer, Christopher Lee and Richard Griffiths. With such great acting you do come to care about these characters as well and wish them all the best.
The 3D is also truly spectacular and is used to magnificent effect particularly when it snows in the film, you actually feel like it's snowing in the cinema! It is the best 3D I have seen since the third Transformers movie. The cinematography and scenery are gorgeous visuals with some stunning views and the musical scores throughout are pitch perfect.
In the end though Hugo does have it's flaws and I think the target demographics are slightly misleading. Everyone from teenage years and upwards should find something to enjoy, particularly film enthusiasts who are intrigued by the history of film. Hugo for me wasn't really magical, but it was interesting, touching and an occasionally wonderful spectacle. Scorsese deserves high merit for trying something out of his normal comfort zone and I commend him for that.