Very Entertaining but could have had more....

Rating: 8/10 (1 August 2007)

I went into this movie expecting a lot. I have heard nothing less than amazing reviews of this film. That actually may have been the problem. I was expecting to be blown away, but surprisingly i was not. Don't make the same mistake I did and go into this movie expecting a modern day "Wizard of Oz" The production style and cinematography were breathtaking. That alone is worth watching the film. Every scene is shaped and warped to crawl inside your head and stay there until the next morning. If only the storyline of Ofelia was able to live up to the imagery of the film. In my opinion the storyline for Mercedes, the mother, the Captain, the doctor, and Ofelia was more entertaining and suspenseful than the storyline of Ofelia and the Labyrinth. It caught my attention and kept me engaged throughout the film.
The story of (Princess) Ofleia returning to her kingdom is a fairy tale and this is important to keep in mind. As much as I kept trying to bring myself into this fairy tale, I couldn't. (Dont' get me wrong, I love of good fiction story.) The fairy tale aspect was just too cut and dry. She finds a key, opens a door, finds another key, opens another door, and the movie ends. It seemed to me that there needed to be more. If it wasn't for the incredible visual imagery and the drama of Mercedes, the doctor, Ofelia, and the mother, this movie could have been quite a flop.
Definitely a movie worth seeing. It was very enjoyable.