This film had never really been on my “must watch” list.
Despite the fairly positive reviews and the relentless ad campaign, I didn’t
really have a burning desire to see what looked like a run-of-the-mill family
flick. Nevertheless, after my Dad raved about this film, my curiosity was
spiked and I sat down with the rest of my family to see if this was anything to
actually get excited about. In parts, I could see why my Dad had raved about
this movie, but after the end credits had finished rolling, I largely wondered
what all the fuss was about.
The idea behind the film is actually a rather good one,
taking the regular ideas of mythical characters like Santa Claus and the Easter
Bunny and giving them a more modern and funky twist. The film makers have
obviously spent a lot of time making sure each character looks and feels right,
and there’s no denying that the characters all feel fully fleshed out (even
Sandman, who doesn't say anything). This is one of the films strong points, as
if the characters didn’t feel as alive and vibrant as they do, then the rest of
the film may have fallen apart completely. The voice actors do a pretty good
job at keeping their characters alive, with particularly funny turns from Hugh
Jackman and Alec Baldwin. There are some duff notes in there, especially from Jude
Law, who plays bad guy Pitch Black. Law just sounds odd when trying to put on
his best menacing voice, which is a shame because the bad guy is actually quite
creepy and sinister, but Law’s voice doesn’t really do it justice. On the other
hand, we have a great turn from Chris Pine (who you’ll recognise as Kirk from
the new Star Trek films), who plays Jack Frost with a great deal of passion. I’ve
seen Pine in a few films now, and it’s clear why he’s becoming such a big star,
as he’s able to work with all sorts of material and pull it off well.
However, we very quickly move on to the bad points of this
film. First, there are the action sequences, which are just too ordinary. I’ll
admit they are fast paced and beautifully realised, but there’s nothing particularly
amazing or jaw dropping about them. There are some great ideas and set ups for
brilliant fights, chases and perilous situations for our characters to get out
of, but it feels like the writers just hold it all back at the last minute. I
got myself all ready for something ridiculous and over the top, but instead all
I got was standard and basic action scenes, which all felt very much on the
rails. Sure there were some “WOW” moments, Jack and the Pitch facing off in the
sky and the introduction of Santa’s sleigh to name but a few, but the writers
seem reluctant to give us more ridiculous and instead give us more small scale
action.
There’s also the slight problem with the pacing. For the
most part, the film moves along at rather a brisk pace, introducing new plot
elements and situations at regular intervals, but once it gets to the final
series of events, the film sputters and struggles to go anywhere. Maybe they
felt as though they hadn’t made a long enough film, so they had to try and make
it longer with different battles and encounters, but what it translates to on
the screen (for me at least) is a stop-start finale that frustrates more than
it entertains. It could have been grand, epic and jaw droppingly brilliant, but
instead it’s just like the rest of the film, ordinary and fairly bland.
Disappointing to say the least.
It’s fun at times,
but the action sequences aren’t as fantastical as they could be, and the finale
suffers for it. The voice acting is just good enough to stop this film sinking
below the average mark, but I can’t help thinking that this should have been so
much better. Score: 5.0/10
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