a complete mess

Rating: 6/10 (5 May 2007)

i cant understand how this movie could have got the credit its achieved when its completely misleading.
this is without a doubt NOT a fantasy movie. this movie is NOT as advertised as a dark exploration into fantasy, it is a very disjointed poor effort at attaining a level of creative genius that simply surpassed the skills of the director.
don't get me wrong, i can fully appreciate the excellent acting in this movie. i have no qualms about the talent seen on screen.
i am however struggling to understand how people can have reached such a level of dullness that they could see this movie and be astounded by its creative imagery.
do we not read anymore? do we not draw? do we not dream. this film completely lacked any skill any creative talent that was abundant in other films such as the original labyrinth movie and dark crystal. what has happened to imagination? this film exploited computer technology and advanced special effects to add polish to what was simply an extremely dull and lacking story.
perhaps what i found most displeasing about this movie, is its frankly insulting attitude to fantasy. this movie could have been done so well, and no this is not an attack on its Spanish origins. this movie simply splashes about special effects and crams in totally unneeded fantasy elements that simply do not fit. this film is NOT a fantasy, in fact the fantasy elements totalled to less than half an hour of the film and were so disjointed from the storyline that they completely failed to have any impact.
i cant help but feel like this movie that is being defended simply because its foreign actually managed to sit itself with the rest of the commercial drivel that seems to be coming out of America. this in itself is not terrible, i can enjoy a shallow meaningless movie for what it is. this movie however tries and fails to attain a level of creativity and depth that it set itself out to have.
really was so terribly disappointed with this movie. please please please do not confine your imagination to this absolute trash. only reason I'm giving it 4 is because the separate elements on their own have merit, but as a film, this was an absolute mess.