review of (non-3D) DVD

Rating: 8/10 (23 July 2012)

It must be said from the outset that 3D is not absolutely necessary for the story but it would enhance it greatly, I imagine. But even in a "flat" version, you can easily imagine the 3D effects.
The acting and cinematography are all first-rate especially the acting of Asa Butterfield who plays the title role, Chloë Grace Moretz as Isabelle, Ben Kingsley as Georges, Helen McCrory as Mama Jeanne, Sacha Baron Cohen as the Inspector, and some nice shorter roles by Jude Law and Christopher Lee.
The station set and the huge clocks are impressive and Martin Scorcese's old film enthusiasms and knowledge are put to good use.
I think most people have missed the reference to Harold Lloyd's "Safety Last!" when Hugo is hanging from a clock. That particular film is also shown as one of the old film excerpts.
The story is, as others have pointed out, a pretty standard action-adventure quite comparable to Pearl White's "Perils of Pauline" and though actors playing Django Reinhardt, James Joyce and Salvador Dali appear briefly, the characters are not identified as they are in Woody Allen's name-dropping "Midnight in Paris". (They actually don't need to be!) A scene for Douglas Fairbank's version of "Thief of Bagdad" is also shown but the character of Hugo is closer to Sabu's in the second version, at least because of his age.
The DVD also includes a "making of Hugo" extra.
Is it a great film? Maybe, maybe not, but the answer is: only time will tell!