Odd, but interesting

Rating: 6/10 (12 December 2007)

Guillermo del Toro (the director of this film) once said "If you think that this is going to be Harry Potter 5, then you're screwed, because it has nothing to do with that, there are some strong and even harsh things in this film" and he was right. This film has it share of violence and language.
It's obvious to see that the director did wanted to set this film aside from most other fantasy films such as Narnia or Harry Potter and opted to deal with this harsh reality and sadly he killed the little girl at the end of the film, but she relives in this fantasy world where she is reunited with her family. So the film has a sad and happy ending at the same time, to me this was odd, because after all this thru out the whole movie there should've been a happy ending or at least end with a lighter note. Also I would've like to see more of this fantasy world that was described to us, but never really shown fully, and that it served as an escape from the harsh reality around the girl.
Over all, the production was very good, the story needed a little help, but I would say if you're tired of watching Harry Potter and want something different, I would say you can watch this and maybe you'll enjoy it.