A Visual Masterpiece, but Lacking in Everything Else

Rating: 3/10 (29 November 2011)

Martin Scorsese's first kid's movie falls short of its expectations. After seeing the trailers, my family and I had very high expectations for this movie, and we eagerly went out and saw it in the theaters. We walked out extremely disappointed.
First of all, the trailers were completely misleading. My first impression was that the movie was about a boy trying to uncover a great mystery left behind in the wake of his father's death. I thought the movie was going to open up into an enchanting adventure, complete with suspense, action, and magic. I didn't get any of those things. This movie starts out will a long build-up, with the audience waiting for this magical adventure to get underway, only to keep them waiting for another hour or so, where nothing interesting or magical happens.
The pacing in the movie is terrible. The movie opens with some stunning visuals, the camera panning over the Paris cityscape and eventually showing us around the train station where the protagonist, Hugo, lives. We get the story of his father's death, and are left with a sense of wonder. We want to know what the automaton is for, why Ben Kingsely's character is so bitter, and what this adventure Hugo promises his little gal-friend is and when it's going to happen. The movie starts and stops, then drags for a bit, then starts, and drags for a long time before grinding to an unsatisfying halt. The adventure doesn't happen. All that waiting around... for nothing.
I don't really know what to say about the acting in this movie. Most of the actors had good moments and bad moments. The dialog was lacking. The characters spent more time staring at each other than actually talking. Some of the facial expressions and emotional reactions were a little on the melodramatic side. (POSSIBLE SPOILERS)Ben Kingsley gets pissy because the two kids find out that he used to make movies? Hugo throws a fit because the automaton didn't work as he expected to? I don't think these were appropriate responses to their situations.
The one good thing I have to say about this movie is that the visuals were absolutely gorgeous. From the cold blue lighting in the snowy outdoor scenes, to the orange-y warmth of the train station, to the powerful metallic essence of the gears and clockwork in the tower, this movie has some of the best 3D effects that I've seen since that awful, shallow Avatar. The problem is, the magical visuals cannot make up for the drab and very UN-magical story.
Overall, the magical, engaging adventure the trailers promised does not exist. The movie's pace is very slow. Some of the acting is questionable. The visuals were good, but they didn't save the movie. Do not go to this movie expecting something with substance. And definitely do not bring your kids to this movie; they will be bored to tears.