Hugo was good but slightly disappointing

Rating: 7/10 (3 October 2014)

Hugo was a decent film with stellar cinematography, great actors and an intriguing, almost, fairy tale story. But the film wasn't amazing. Technically if you broke down each section it should have been but for some reason something was lacking. The movie didn't quite capture my imagination as the book (The Invention of Hugo Cabret) did. The adaptation lacked some parts from the book, both minor and major, that really added to the story. Even something as small as Georges Melies making the comment how he hated Hugo walking behind him because of the sound of his heels against the (Méliès films were melted down and made into shoe heels) Parisian sidewalks saddened him. especially at the end of the book when Hugo has now grown up and made his own automaton which you learn has written the novel you have almost finished. The film missing on these sections that could have greatly added to the movie disappointed me. It had so much more potential for an already good film.
But there were also many things that made this a good film. One that particularly stood out to me was the cinematography and the 3D effects. I would highly recommend watching this in 3D. You can easily tell that this was made to be experienced that way. Scene's like the recreation of L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat really show the creativity of Scorsese. When the short film came out audiences scrambled to get out of the way as they thought they were in danger. In the recreation this part is in 3D so it feels like the train is actually coming at you and for a split second you think that you, too, will be hit. The cinematography also added to Hugo. Scenes that stuck out to me was the camera following Hugo through the station and into the inner workings of the clocks and the overall views of the iconic city Paris. These shots really added to the "fairy tale" feel and contributed to a sense of awe that complimented the story.
Overall it was a pretty good movie. I would give it a 7.5 but I can't. It could have been great but it lacked for some parts that would have made the story much better. But it did make up for it in amazing 3D effects and fantastic cinematography.I would highly recommend watching this film but just don't expect it to be as good as the book. But if you have not read the book then you will think this movie is much better.