Die Insel der besonderen Kinder

I haven't read the books, so I can't talk about the differences at length. I read a comment from another reviewer who is furious about the movie, because of all the changes. You have to remember when a beloved book gets made into a film, it's almost impossible it'll meet what you had made of it in your mind.

Also as this is limited (running time mostly), it won't have everything the book had. Even Peter Jacksons adaptations could not have everything Tolkien had written in his book (at least not in the version that was running in the cinemas). Having said all that I hope this prepares you in case you do want to watch this. This is light and fun (with dark themes of course) and aimed to our inner and outer child. It does a good enough job taking us away and entertain us. That's good enough in my book (no pun intended)

After reading the book and also all the 1 star reviews on IMDb, I, honestly, quite liked the film. Not perfect but still well produced and with amazing visual effects. The most un-Tim Burton film (I mean it in a good way) Tim has made, taking a break from Johnny Depp and Helen Bonham Carter or even Alan Rickman. All I'm saying is that it's a GOOD film, but nothing more. This is a short review but it says it all. I recommend to be over 10 to watch this cause it gave me the chills and should be classified as horror.

Just to clarify one thing: I don't hate Tim Burton at all. In fact, I kinda love his work. He has a very unique and imaginative vision, seems to have a tasteful choice for actors (besides Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter), and can really pour his heart and soul in some of his films like "Edward Scissorhands", "Corpse Bride", and "The Nightmare Before Christmas". But, just like any director, he has his missteps also. Some of his recent work is very lackluster and, at times, flat-out bad (Planet of the... BLAHK!).

But I was still excited for this particular project of his. I haven't read the book, or knew much about it, but when I saw the trailer I got my hopes up. Maybe this will be his big comeback! Asa Butterfield is an actor I like, the imagery is appropriately dream- like and the source material seems to fit his style perfectly. It even has the screenwriter from X-Men: First Class!

So I went to see the film with a few of my friends in a theater of around 15 people and 25-30 recliner seats. I couldn't wait to see another great Tim Burton movie!

And for the first half of the film... I genuinely enjoyed it! Sure, it does take some time for Jacob to reach Peregrine's home, but once he does... I couldn't help but smile like an idiot. The world that Jacob enters is fascinating, the visuals are exceptional, and every one of the peculiar kids are very interesting side- characters. I wanted to learn more about the girl that could lift boulders over her head! There is also this kid that can project his dreams into film... how cool! The first act always left me with questions that I was excited to hear about when the plot kicks in.

And then the plot kicks in...

That is where the movie starts to run out of steam.

I could tell there were a lot of story elements in the book just from watching the movie, because in the second half a lot of it felt crammed in. Whenever I try to follow the story as best as I can, there's always this one subplot that makes precious little sense. It also doesn't help that the villain is weak and his motivations are somewhat vague.

The climax is pretty abrupt and Burton sadly delves into a few clichés that aggravate me. A lot of it felt by-the-numbers at that time, and I was sorely disappointed.

That's not to say that this was a bad film, because it isn't. The acting (especially from Eva Green) is competent, the whole film is imaginative in its story and visuals, and somewhere buried beneath lies a great film with lots of creative ideas and appealing whimsy. But the plot is messy, the main character is bland, the pacing is at times uneven and, in the end, it's just another average YA adaptation that had loads of potential.

VERDICT:

+ Visuals + Well-cast, especially for Eva Green + Imaginative + Sense of wonder in the first act + Solid directing + Interesting side characters

• Villain - The hero is underdeveloped - Plot is messy - Pacing is uneven - Unconvincing love chemistry

SCORE: 5.5/10

The difference from the books allows this to be stand alone without driving you mental because you're left with a cliffhanger for a long time or, potentially, forever... if you enjoyed watch and enjoy it without reading the books?? Read them or get them on audiobook; you will LOVE them!!!

If you've read the trilogy first and THEN watch the film. You're in for a wee change, but it sat well with me rather than be left in insane-land til I could get the next book, or chapter, or be able to see the bigger picture...

Tim Burton has tackled almost all of the genre's, and done most of them very well. So who doesn't want to see him go back to his adventure-fantasy comfort zone with Miss Peregrine?

It's billed as Tim Burton's X-Men, and I like that comparison a lot. It definitely has certain similarities to a mutant story, but with Burton's flare for obscurity and peculiarity. Let me start off by saying that I really liked the premise and set up. Not only are the characters similar to X-Men, but the story slightly resembled Days of Future Past. I love the time travel elements and links to World War II. But the rest of the film just didn't live up to the promise of the trailers.

As delightful as some of Burton's films can be, I find the unevenness to be one of his biggest detractors of his otherwise intriguing ideas. For some reason, the second half of his films don't have the same cohesiveness that the opening's do. With Miss Peregrine, we are set up with a much more grounded take to a heightened story than I thought. You certainly get to see the impressive and outright strange abilities of the young children, but it isn't taken into any extraordinary levels, until later. The second half is flooded with ridiculous and over-the-top 'peculiarities'. That's would be all fine and dandy if the first half didn't set up an already intriguing story without all of the added strangeness.

As for the performances, Eva Green is the only one that really stood out here. She seems like a perfect fit into a Burton-esque drama. Her line delivery and presence just speaks Burton. She's also the only character that kept my attention from beginning till end. Sadly, she's not really in it all that much, even with the title having her name. We mostly focus on Asa Butterfield's 'Jake' and Ella Burnell's 'Emma'. Of course, there is some romantic tension, but it never leaves the constructs of a typical teen angst drama. I just didn't buy into it.

There's a ton of cool things about this movie, but by the time I left the theater the whole idea just felt tiresome. But with all this said, I would still be open to another entry in the series, just include Eva Green a little more and don't fall into clichés, Burton. You're better than that.

+Premise

+Eva Green is perfect

-First and second half are completely different films

-Romantic chemistry was hard to buy into

5.9/10