Hugo - Self Indulgent boredom

Rating: 3/10 (26 January 2012)

As a huge fan of Martin Scorsese I was really looking forward to watching Hugo. While it didn't look like the type of film I would usually associate with Scorsese the reviews were good and the story line sounded decent so i went to the cinema expecting a children's film which would also be entertaining for adults.
Within half an hour of the film my girlfriend was completely bored out of her mind and I have to admit I was really struggling with it. The film was set in Paris yet most of the cast had cockney accents, the main star was little more than a cardboard cut out, Sacha Baron Cohen's character was cringe worthy and most disappointing of all, the story really wasn't that entertaining. As the film went on my girlfriend was desperate to walk out but as it was Scorsese I was convinced that something incredible was going to happen if we just sat it out, i was wrong!!!!
On and on the film went and it struck me, this film was primarily meant for kids! I really couldn't imagine any child being captivated by this story. In fact some of the kids in the cinema were fast asleep!
SPOILER - When it was eventually revealed that Sir Ben Kingsley's character was an old movie maker the film did get slightly entertaining as we were effectively given a 20 minute documentary on the early history of film. This 20 minutes saved the film from being a total disaster as it was actually quite interesting. However, if Scorsese wanted to write about the early history of film why didn't he just do a documentary on it rather than put it around this feeble, boring and at times embarrassing story line.
When the film came to an end I looked on in stunned silence. I really couldn't believe just how bad it was compared to some of the reviews I had read. When I told my girlfriend that the film has now been nominated for 11 Academy awards we wondered if we had seen the same film as the Academy members as to our recollection it was self indulgent dross. Thankfully, after speaking to some of my friends who have also seen the film their thoughts on it coincided with mine, in fact some of them were clever enough to walk out half way through and not waste any more of their time.
If this film wins best picture or director at the Academy Awards I will be stunned and it will only emphasise that it has been a pretty poor year for film. I really really wanted to like this movie, and gave it every chance, but its just not that good!