some concepts seem patently hopeless from the beginning , a live - action version of mr .
magoo being a prime example .
the cartoon figure mr .
magoo , the bumbling blind man , can be quite funny , but only in small doses and only within the confines of animated images .
if you think naked gun star leslie nielsen is a dubious choice to play the role of the short guy who runs into walls , you are right , but there is an even more astonishing selection .
for a director they tapped hong kong 's stanley tong , whose resume consists mainly of a handful of movies featuring martial arts expert jackie chan .
the story , such that there is one , is about a large , stolen ruby , which looks a woolworth reject .
mr .
magoo gets it and , of course , does not realize he has it .
mayhem then ensues as the bad and the good guys chase each other with mr .
magoo frequently oblivious to the fact that anyone is being chased .
like home alone 3 but
without any class , mr . magoo can only be described as painfully bad .
fifteen minutes of it feels like an eternity .
the movie 's humor is pathetically lame , and the pacing is way off .
when one is stuck in a theater for an hour and a half watching what claims to be a motion picture , one looks for some solace .
mr .
magoo provides only three such moments .
the movie begins and ends with the classic cartoon version of the character , who exudes his usual charm .
the only other saving grave in the movie itself is angus , the sweet little bulldog .
angus demonstrates more genuine emotions and a wider acting range than any of the humans in the picture .
finally , the ending credits contain outtakes of the movie , which have some of the genuineness and spontaneity that the movie badly lacked . rather than attempt to adapt mr .
magoo to a non - cartoon movie , nielsen makes the strategic mistake of trying to literally be a human version of the cartoon .
he has trouble sustaining the squinting eyes and the affected voice , and
even when he does it comes off as awkwardly unfunny .
my wife managed to get some sleep during the movie , but i was not so lucky .
hopefully , this picture will force producers to think harder about which subjects have promise and which do not .
mr .
magoo runs 1 : 37 .
it is rated pg for comic violence and would be acceptable for all ages .
my son jeffrey , age 8 , said he thought the movie was good and really funny , but recommends you not choose it if you want an action movie .
he said he liked home alone
3 much more .
his friend maxim , age 9 , said that he thought it was good but
very silly and parts did not make sense .
his other friend nickolas , age 8 , said he 'd give the movie
*
* * 1/2 , but that
it was really silly .
seem patently hopeless from the beginning my wife managed to get some sleep during the movie , but i was not so lucky painfully bad pathetically lame , and the pacing is way off without any class demonstrates more genuine emotions and a wider acting range than any of the humans in the picture it was really silly very silly and parts did not make sense the movie badly lacked a dubious choice as awkwardly unfunny