danielmanson

I did somewhat enjoy this movie. I'll be honest in saying it's not my usual cup of tea for a film, but I still gave it a go. And as my title says, I feel it's just lacking that killer factor. Like it's okay, nothing overly bad, but I wouldn't say anything overly good either.

I liked how they kept that "panto" esc vibe with the characters and the plot, without making it overly silly. It managed to keep that original charm with the "Wonka" character well also. And to be honest I also did enjoy how all the characters were completely unique and had their own traits. I find a lot of movies "side" characters are very dull and pointless, but this does a fantastic job of every single character having a purpose.

I will say I thought a couple of the songs felt forced into the plot and didn't really fit with the plot at the time. The fact that it's VERY clearly not them singing also throws me out of it. I know it's never them singing in these type of movies, but this seems so much more obvious than usual.

The plot just lacked that little bit that would really elevate this movie being more than a 6/10. As mentioned it's okay. It's entertaining in parts and it keeps you occupied and somewhat interested. But it just lacks that bit that would make you want to watch again. It's quite forgettable. 6/10.

I honestly expected the worst film ever going into this judging from the reviews from box office and I have to say it's nowhere near as bad as it makes out. Sure, it's not the best movie ever made and no it won't win awards. But, it's entertaining and isn't that what you want for a Xmas movie?

I'll start with where it went wrong: I thought Dwayne Johnson's character was quite bland really, he didn't have much to work with and it was quite apparently throughout. To be blunt it was the stereotypical "Rock" character that he tends to play.

I think they massively underplayed the main villain in this also. They could have really fleshed her out a lot more, but instead we got this almost soulless witch that didn't really get any screen time. All the characters I'd argue were underplayed and the depth and arc's of them were generally poor. I could argue also that they were trying a bit too much with the plot and throwing a bit too much generally. But, that's not a major annoyance more of a nit pick.

But, as I said at the beginning it's entertaining. It's a different take completely on a typical Xmas movie and I appreciate the direction they went with this. I thought the CGI was great & the fighting scenes were really fun to watch. I definitely think it gets better the more you watch and by the end I was hooked. Like I said this won't win awards, but for a different style of Xmas movie I actually enjoyed watching and would recommend if you're feeling something a little different this month.

I knew absolutely nothing about this movie going into it and in all honesty it's not bad at all. Sure, it's got flaws and it's not going to win awards. But, did it entertain me on my Friday night movie watch? Yes.

My biggest problem with this plot was the depth of the characters. It was lacking in all areas unfortunately. They clearly tried with certain areas such as Sara's dead sister, but it felt so half arsed and incomplete. They could have really fleshed out the stalkers character and shown us a lot more than they did and I think this would have really helped the character and the plot as a whole.

The acting was less than impressive I have to say. No stand out performances and it was being dragged along by the intensity of the plot (which I have to say they did a good job of doing).

There are some positives however. Obviously the plot is laid out quite linear, but as mentioned the intensity is kept throughout and the increase of Rebecca's actions is illustrated well. And ultimately it's an entertaining watch that never felt dragged out. Every scene felt important in one way or another, which can be rare in films these days.