Middle of the road.

Rating: 5/10 (29 December 2004)

This film was compelling - it kept you watching. The spectacular backgrounds and both strange and interesting characters are all attractions. But the storyline is basically rubbish. I haven't read the books myself, but can only imagine them to be terrible as the story by itself is poor, and only works with the images to support it. This story is fantasy that isn't quite convincing. I didn't feel that you got to know the characters at all which made you feel distant from what was happening. I'm not a particular fan of this genre, but it can be effective if it convinces you that you are there and that it is real. I would watch this film, purely as something to fill a couple of hours. Long movies are always hard to keep at a good standard the whole way through and often drop down in your ratings, within the last half hour. This is why I give it a 5, because it really is in the middle. Nothing very bad, just nothing to shout about.