Great acting but badly written dialog

Rating: Null/10 (16 August 2007)

I had been anticipating this movie ever since I first heard about it. This movie seemed to have everything going for it: cast, special effects, and a time-honored story line. In a lot of ways, I wasn't disappointed. Michelle Pfeiffer stole the show with her excellent job as the wicked witch. There were times you actually felt sorry for her. Cox and Danes had great chemistry together. However, De Niro just didn't work as the gay pirate. The scene in the closet was painful to watch.
The special effects were as good as they come but they are not enough to overcome the poorly crafted dialog. A poor choice of words made some the close moments between Tristran and Yvaine sound like two third-graders in the hall. Even some of Michelle's threats sounded laughable instead of scary. Key information was sometimes lost in the words as you try to understand what a character really was trying to say.
So if you want see visual candy and great acting, by all means go. But know in advance they whole experience will be lessened as you strain to figure out what these people are saying. A good rental at best.