Great Fantasy

Rating: Null/10 (27 February 2008)

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
I finally got around to watching Guillermo del Toro's fantasy flick, which I've been wanting to watch since I first heard about it. I guess I'll start off by saying that this film is what The Lord of the Rings trilogy should have been since this movie here features more heart, balls and story than a single frame of the Jackson films have. With that out of the way, this film here manages to be very beautiful, poetic and smart without losing any of its story or visual quality. The movie is quite eerie from start to finish and the fantasy world created by del Toro is very haunting yet captivating at the same time. The visual look is something truly beautiful and must come from a brilliant mind (not to mention twisted). What I liked most is that you never knew where the film was going to take it and the director wasn't scared to take you places that you wouldn't expect. I certainly didn't see the ending coming and I can't think of too many director's that would have the balls to end the film in this way. Ivana Baquero is terrific as the young girl and Sergi Lopez makes for a great villain. The one problem I had with the film is that I thought it dragged on a tad bit too long but I think I'll enjoy the movie more on a second viewing when I can just go with the picture and I'm not trying to figure everything out.