I totally loved the idea of this movie, a comic book old time Boy's Own adventure story brought to life. Jude Law's character reminded me of old British boyhood adventure stories like Biggles or Raffles - characters that he should definitely take a crack at in the future.
Yeah the use of Laurence Olivier in this movie does set a dangerous precedent. And this is obviously NOT appealing to those nose-sniffing pretentious viewers who expect every film to have some "deep and meaningful" philosophical discourse, like a frigging wailing English Literature essay. But for those of us who enjoy good solid creative entertainment with flair and imagination, this does work at least ninety-five percent.
The flying platforms are totally cool. I understand they are based on ones used in previous stories, but that just makes me want to see those stories as well. Some of the ideas don't stack up too well, like the magical airplane that turns into a submersible and can repair itself automatically. And some shots don't match up perfectly. But it's still a cool feel and a great storyline.
My biggest complaint with this movie is that the lighting was very dark for most of the picture; I was squinting for the first two thirds. I feel a bit hypocritical since I've often complained of CG movies being unrealistically bright and cutesy; but this went to the opposite extreme. I hope the image improves on DVD, which is direct light of course.
Summing up, a great cinematic experience though not quite Top 100 material - and definitely the movie I want to give to my Dad for his birthday or Xmas this year!
Yeah the use of Laurence Olivier in this movie does set a dangerous precedent. And this is obviously NOT appealing to those nose-sniffing pretentious viewers who expect every film to have some "deep and meaningful" philosophical discourse, like a frigging wailing English Literature essay. But for those of us who enjoy good solid creative entertainment with flair and imagination, this does work at least ninety-five percent.
The flying platforms are totally cool. I understand they are based on ones used in previous stories, but that just makes me want to see those stories as well. Some of the ideas don't stack up too well, like the magical airplane that turns into a submersible and can repair itself automatically. And some shots don't match up perfectly. But it's still a cool feel and a great storyline.
My biggest complaint with this movie is that the lighting was very dark for most of the picture; I was squinting for the first two thirds. I feel a bit hypocritical since I've often complained of CG movies being unrealistically bright and cutesy; but this went to the opposite extreme. I hope the image improves on DVD, which is direct light of course.
Summing up, a great cinematic experience though not quite Top 100 material - and definitely the movie I want to give to my Dad for his birthday or Xmas this year!