Unpleasant claptrap

Rating: 4/10 (5 November 2007)

Although I'm giving it a generous 4 out of 10 for the good cast and acting, this is the biggest pile of shite I've clapped eyes on since time immemorial. There are major tonal problems: at one end of the scale we have a general air of frivolity, with Robert de Niro dancing around in a dress pretending to be gay (which is just offensive for all involved) and Mark Williams hamming it up as a goat-person, whilst at the other end of the scale a man's limbs are broken by voodoo, and various animals slaughtered and their entrails used to predict the future. It's the same mixture of casual violence and stylized frivolity that annoyed me in "Layer Cake" by the same director. The film is just endless sound and fury signifying nothing - it's extremely overscored, and there are endless unnecessary pans of dramatic scenery and mountainous vistas in a clear attempt to leach a sense of grandeur from the Lord Of The Rings films. After 2 hours of this unpleasant claptrap, the film ends and Take That come on over the credits. Money back, please.