Beautiful, fascinating, but interminable

Rating: 8/10 (6 January 2002)

There's a lot to like here, but ultimately this film should have been
an hour shorter. The plot is incredibly repetative: the heroes face
horrible danger, fight their way out, and then barely escape--repeat, repeat, repeat. There is almost no character
development, or for that matter, development of anything other than
thrills. But thrill after thrill eventually gets boring, and two hours in, I
couldn't wait for it to be over.
All is not a loss, however, as the magical environment and special
effects are dazzling and almost succeed at keeping the film going.