If you like Carlos Ruiz Zafon , "The Shadow of the Wind" novel, you'll love this movie !

Rating: 9/10 (9 July 2012)

If you're reading my review, either you know of Carlos Zafon's books and you are compelled by my reference or you haven't got a clue of what am i talking about and so you're curious to see why i posted a title like that.
If you know of Carlos Zafon's books and you're still here reading this, chances are that you absolutely loved his novels such as "The Shadow of the Wind"',"Angel's Game" and "Marina", at the most.
So...if just by me mentioning Zafon's "The Shadow of the Wind" is enough for you to recall that haunted, poetic and beautiful atmosphere from his books, well strangely enough it's all here exactly like that in this Scorcese movie ! Because...Watching Hugo is like reading the Carlos Ruiz Zafon book he never wrote but could have written and this is very hard to explain to people who haven't experienced this film knowing about novels like "The Shadow of the Wind".
The way the plot feels almost non existent if you're expecting it to be like a typical Hollywood movie where everything has to be explained , defined and mixed with action scenes every ten minutes. The way it creates a magical world based on real places as Scorcese does with Paris in the movie what Zafon does it with Barcelona in his novels. The way characters are all weaved into the atmosphere of the place and although their stories don't need to touch they are all part of the same magical universe, which has magic without the need to have traditional fairytale or fantasy stuff in. Christopher Lee in this movie plays exactly the same character you can find in Zafons novel , The Shadow of the Wind as the secret library book keeper!!
So what does this all mean if you're just a casual movie goer, don't like to read and you're expecting Hugo to be like a typical action packed fantasy movie for kids ?... Well , it isn't, you've been fooled by the trailer and Hugo is not the new Harry Potter. Deal with it ! By saying this i really cannot believe that so many people attack Hugo here in IMDb, mostly because they though the trailer mislead them. You're fooled, so what ? Why throw your anger at the movie because some wise guy at the marketing department sold it as something that is not ? Why cant these angry reviewers just try to enjoy this movie for what it is ?! A fantastic but most of all - a different (!!) Hollywood movie coming out of studios that usually just throw another brainless Transformer (or clone) at you every other weekend.
There's nothing wrong with the plot in Hugo. It's simple but its incredibly well done and contrary to what some bad reviews said, it was a joy to follow the (obvious) mystery, because the magic in this movie was not in th mystery or in he suspense scenes (much less in the action scenes) , but in the general ensemble final atmosphere that every little piece of the visual puzzle created. Sets, characters, world and love for the cinema. Also, i didn't think this is a movie for kids, or at least its not a kids movie for sure. Its just a movie with kids in it ! And probably one of the best and most beautiful looking movies i ever seen. If you like illustration or you're an illustrator you'll love this film to death. Its a visual steam-punk masterpiece.
Contrary to what some other reviewers felt, personally, i cannot compare it to Cinema Paradiso because for me the real footage from Meliés movies didn't affected me at all with the same dramatic punch Tornatore's movie did at the end and so to me if there was something missing from Hugo was a bit of emotion and also character development because in some parts of the movie i wanted to see more of the many characters and little stories but they're never fully developed. But i liked the little touches, i was captivated by the small glimpses of love-stories and really liked Sacha Baron Choen character which to me is really the heart of the movie in a strange kind of way that maybe shouldn't have been like that.
Overall i think this is a fantastic and unique movie and one of the best American love letters to cinema I've ever seen. I wished it could be as emotional as Cinema Paradiso but it isn't and that is the only reason i don't give it ten stars. Otherwise its brilliant, poetic and beautiful in more than one way.
Although i agree a little bit with people who said the documentary style stuff stalls the plot and makes some parts of Hugo seem like they belong in a different movie. I agree that was not a good choice by Scorcese and to me th repetition of those bits in the second half of the story really toned down the dramatic effect and shouldn't have been done like that at all. The way the real footage was inserted felt too intrusive and split the movie in pieces for too many seconds several times when it needed to create more empathy with the audience and the characters. Anyway... If you don't go into it expecting the usual Hollywood crap blockbuster you'll enjoy the way the story is weaved. Above all if you like books and have a passion for cinema you wont forget Hugo so soon.