Not thrilled...

Rating: 3/10 (18 January 2007)

OK, let me start by saying there were a few things about the movie that I did like. I thought that some of the visual effects were very nicely done. The character of Pan was very well designed. The creature with eyes in its hands was adequately creepy. The frog was an interesting concept.
Here is what I really couldn't stand about the movie... Please be warned this does contain spoilers!!!! If you have not seen it and you don't want the movie ruined for you, stop reading now.
First of all the preview of the movie makes it look phenomenal! That is what drew me in to see the movie in the first place. Then the first killing with the man getting his face bashed in repeatedly with the butt of the gun. Yeah... that was stupid. I realize that they were trying to point out the cruelty of war, but that was just pointless. The trailer leads you to believe that that is the Spanish reply to Narnia... then you get the first make-shift horror gore. I understand that the movie was R rated for a reason.. but when you make a movie that is projected as being an adult science fiction, the gore just ruined it. If I wanted to see that I would have gone to see whatever slasher film is currently being released.
My other big problem is that the title really has very little to do with the movie. The word Labyrinth in its simplest form is a maze. I realize that they are trying to say that the tasks that Ofelia was sent on are complex series things that she must do, and that is where they are referencing the idea of a "Labyrinth". But that is not the direction that we are lead to believe the movie will be going in. When I saw the first preview of the movie I was under the impression that Ofelia was going to enter an actual labyrinth. The previews lead you to believe this by showing you things that are not the outside world. They should have shown more of Ofelia in the real world.
Ending spoiler beyond this point! Ofelia is crazy... yes she is out of her skull insane, hallucinating right until the very end. There is nothing to show that she truly enters this new world... they show her dead body at the end. So with her last ounce of life she hallucinates that she is still living in this new glorious world.
As someone that has a passion for movies, this one was bitter end. Usually I can find something of worth within most of the films that I see, even if I don't think it was incredible. With this one, I saw it once, and I will most likely not watch it again. It really wasn't all that good... and I hate saying that because I do like most of Guillermo del Toro's movies.