Incredibly boring...

Rating: 1/10 (19 February 2012)

If you go in to see a magical film in the likes of Narnia, filled with magic and adventure, with a fantastic, mystery automaton at the core as the trailers suggest , you will be sorely disappointed. "Hugo" is nothing like that. The trailers are extremely misleading as to the actual story and with over 2 hrs runtime, and a story that goes nowhere, it is a VERY boring film.
Hugo is a little orphan boy that has gone through H!ll and back, yet there is absolutely no emotion from him, he is as hollow as the little automaton he is repairing. His little friend is absolutely a horrible actress too, her performance is awful! No emotion (plus she wears the same mismatched clothes all through the movie!)
The story starts out about a little orphan boy who lives in the Paris train station and winds up the clocks. He is in possession of a little mystery automaton which he is repairing because he thinks it holds a message from his dead father. By chance he hooks up with mystery toy shop owner George Melies (Ben Kingsley) and the story suddenly becomes about George Melies and *his* sorrow over how his movies were not what people wanted to see after WWI.
The cinematography is absolutely stunning. I did not see this film in 3D. The sets, the mood, the people, the costumes... fantastic!! But the story wasn't there. There was no magic, no mystery and no adventure. It was not a Narnia like film... it was a lecture on the early days of cinema and one of the great directors' work.
Another thing I noticed was that there was a lot of silence in the film. Great shots but you ended up staring at them for a good few minutes with no story or dialog happening. I can't see my kids sitting through this. I can't see an adult sitting through this!! I think a documentary of George Melies would have me much more interested than false advertising for a magical film...
Ben Kingsley performed as expected. He is really good at everything he does. Jude Law... well you blinked and he was gone. He had like 5 sentences to say. Now he can add "played in a Scorcese film" in his resume. Christopher Lee had a nice small part too. Sascha Baron Cohen... hmmm. I know a lot of people didn't like him but I found him good. Although he was supposed to be funny he did come out more annoying than funny but I did end up sympathizing with his character, so I liked him.
If only the story was there as promised (advertised) if this was indeed a magical adventure. If more talented young actors were chosen that delivered emotion... paired with the stunning visuals of the films it would have been... magic!! If only...