I was really interested in seeing this movie from the start, but the negative press and the corny trailer made me lower my expectations somewhat. There was something about it, though, that still made me want to go see it, even if it turned out to be good for nothing except eye candy. However, my initial skepticism went right out the window at the stunning opening sequence, recounting the prologue in animation that was part puppet theater, part illustration.
Indeed, the visuals in this film are stunning, as are the costumes, both of which are fully on display, but the actors are never overwhelmed by their sumptuous surroundings. Julia Roberts is clearly having a wonderful time as the kind of character she should have been self-aware enough to play a long time ago. Lily Collins turns in a sweet, earnest performance that comes off as the perfect compromise between the traditional and "modern" fairytale princess. Her dedication to what could have been a phoned-in ingénue is actually rather impressive. The supporting cast wears somewhat thin (namely, a few of the dwarfs), but the director thankfully realizes that this is a fairytale, not a cartoon, and the audience is spared from most painful mugging.
The main weaknesses of the film, then, are the comedy and the storyline. While I had plenty of giggles, and the dialogue isn't nearly as bad as the trailer made it seem, between the dwarfs and the queen, there are more than a few gags that get repeated over and over, and lines that, depending on who you are, will elicit a chuckle or a groan. While the Snow White story isn't altered radically, and most of the revisions come off as embellishment, there are a handful of set pieces that clash with the tone, and come off as contrived or pointless. Still, several of the changes are more than welcome, even if they come at the cost of the more iconic points of the story being overlooked. For my part, I believe that this plucky Snow would handle the poison apple scenario exactly the way she did here, and it made me smile to see it in the finale.
I'm a big fan of fairy tales, whimsy (in healthy doses), and visuals as big as the imagination, so I recommend "Mirror Mirror" to fans of the same, and appreciators of films like "Enchanted" and "MirrorMask". It's a fun, heart-filled escapist artwork, good for more than a few viewings.
Indeed, the visuals in this film are stunning, as are the costumes, both of which are fully on display, but the actors are never overwhelmed by their sumptuous surroundings. Julia Roberts is clearly having a wonderful time as the kind of character she should have been self-aware enough to play a long time ago. Lily Collins turns in a sweet, earnest performance that comes off as the perfect compromise between the traditional and "modern" fairytale princess. Her dedication to what could have been a phoned-in ingénue is actually rather impressive. The supporting cast wears somewhat thin (namely, a few of the dwarfs), but the director thankfully realizes that this is a fairytale, not a cartoon, and the audience is spared from most painful mugging.
The main weaknesses of the film, then, are the comedy and the storyline. While I had plenty of giggles, and the dialogue isn't nearly as bad as the trailer made it seem, between the dwarfs and the queen, there are more than a few gags that get repeated over and over, and lines that, depending on who you are, will elicit a chuckle or a groan. While the Snow White story isn't altered radically, and most of the revisions come off as embellishment, there are a handful of set pieces that clash with the tone, and come off as contrived or pointless. Still, several of the changes are more than welcome, even if they come at the cost of the more iconic points of the story being overlooked. For my part, I believe that this plucky Snow would handle the poison apple scenario exactly the way she did here, and it made me smile to see it in the finale.
I'm a big fan of fairy tales, whimsy (in healthy doses), and visuals as big as the imagination, so I recommend "Mirror Mirror" to fans of the same, and appreciators of films like "Enchanted" and "MirrorMask". It's a fun, heart-filled escapist artwork, good for more than a few viewings.