Gorgeous Spectacle...but that's all

Rating: 4/10 (8 December 2011)

"Hugo" provides a gorgeous spectacle of a 1930s Paris that never existed. The sets and scenery (nearly all computer generated I imagine) are simply beautiful, and I imagine it was the previews of these scenes that prompted me to see the film. An 8.6 IMDb review probably didn't hurt either, although I definitely should know better by now to take that with a grain of salt.
The story however, was painfully weak and boring. I dozed off a couple of times during the movie, simply because nothing was happening. The gorgeous visuals alone are not sufficient to carry a more than two hour long movie.
The imagery and tone of the film suggest initially that something magical and dramatic is eventually going to happen...but it never does. The "story" just plods on and on (did I mention it was loooong?) to a completely disappointing climax. Actually, there really was no climax...the film just sort of "ends".
"Hugo" is really only worth seeing if you think you would enjoy sitting for two hours taking in a portrayal of 1930s Paris that looks like it came from a Thomas Kincaid painting. There are some interesting characters thrown in....I enjoyed Sacha Baron-Cohen's portrayal of the Station Inspector....but there is nowhere near enough substance in the story to support a full length movie. I found "Hugo" on balance to simply be too long, and very boring.
This was yet another film that demonstrates that visuals alone, no matter how compelling, cannot substitute for a decent story.