Outstanding! The best modern fantasy to date.

Rating: 9/10 (22 September 2007)

The brilliance of this film is that it was able to shift between fantasy and reality, which is a challenging task, and del Toro nailed it.
Pan's Labyrinth is unlike any other fantasy as it was not at all light hearted, it was in fact much darker than any other fantasy films to date and emphasised the true pain and suffering that was present during the post war era. The storyline was truly moving and mesmerising and has a great climatic ending to it.
This film would not have been what it was if it were not for Ivana Baquero's portrayal as Ofelia. Only being twelve you were really able to relate to her character's ordeal throughout, by inflicting her emotion upon the audience. Sergi López as Captain Vidal, gave that film that extra sense of darkness in reality and acted the part to such such a believable extent. Maribel Verdú, who played Mercedes, was surprising in that she undertook an almost heroic figure and you really feel for her character in the way she has to experience being torn between the army and the guerrillas.
This film certainly has given more of a different opinion to del Toro as he has produced a true masterpiece.