The Accents! Not even an attempt - what were they thinking? They might as well have done the whole thing in that Southern Drawl of the Russian Ambassador. Maybe it's because I'm a Brit but the crass incongruity of someone who seemed never to have heard a Scot trying to do a Scottish accent - who did they use as a voice coach - groundskeeper Willie? Scottie from Star Trek (a Canadian)?. This meant the whole thing never really got started for me - I'm sure it's a great story (never read the book - maybe I should) but I couldn't get past the awful casting, dialogue and wooden performances. Is this Hollywood poking fun at the Brits again? It was hard to tell - if it was it was a joke that backfired pretty badly. If the performances were meant to reflect badly on the colonial British (we've heard it all before - get over it) then all they seemed to show was that a portrayal of buffoons by buffoons doesn't really give much insight into the original buffoons. Actually there's a whole sub-thesis there about how you need to be a good actor to play the baddies - hence why Brits always get a staring role as the villain I guess. Anyway this movie is a stinker - which is a shame because it obviously cost quite a bit to make.
Review of Tai-Pan
