La isla del Dr. Moreau

The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)

** (out of 4)

Edward Douglas (David Thewlis) is found floating at sea in a raft and is saved when a boat being led by a man named Montgomery (Val Kilmer) comes to the rescue. The two men end up back on an island where all sorts of strange creatures are. These creatures, it turns out, are the work of Dr. Moreau (Marlon Brando) who is trying to creature the perfect mix of human and animal.

When I originally saw this film in 1996 I was shocked at how bad it was and I couldn't help but wonder how it turned out so bad. Then we got a brilliant documentary by David Gregory, which explains what happened during the production so I decided to re-visit the movie and I was surprised to see that time has actually been rather kind to the picture. There's no question that it's still a complete mess, which is no wonder considering what happened during the production but at the same time there's quite a bit of good things to be had here.

For starters, the special effects are actually wonderful and this is especially true for the make-up effects. The animal people's make-up is terrific and you actually feel as if you're looking at a real mix between humans and animals. Of course, these effects are a major step up from the stuff we had seen in earlier version. Another major plus is that the story manages to do a good job in the creatures "problems" with who they are. There are many scenes where they want to know if they're human or some sort of animal and I found these scenes to be rather intelligent.

The performances are also something that took a beating when the film was originally released but outside of Kilmer phoning in his performance, what we get here is actually pretty good. Thewlis makes for a good leading man and Fairuza Balk is good in her role of the panther woman. The various actors who appear as the creatures do a very good job at well and especially how hard it is to "act" with all that make-up on. Then, there's Marlon Brando. I hated his performance the first time I saw it but I must admit that it worked for me on this viewing. I thought he did a rather good job playing the "father" to these and I actually liked the way he tried to parent these creatures.

Of course, that doesn't cover some of the really bad stuff here including the entire sequence with the ice bucket on his head. Other decisions the actor made like the white make-up was also incredibly silly and just doesn't fit in the film. Another problem with the movie is the entire relationship between Douglas and the panther woman just doesn't work. There's also obvious issues with the production that shines through including a rather action-packed and silly ending. I'd also argue that it just seems like the original film wanted to be something more intelligent but that was scraped.

THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU still isn't a good movie but at the same time it's certainly not as bad as it was viewed in 1996. I'm one of the people who really crushed this film when it was released but this latest viewing had me seeing it a tad bit better. Still, you can't help but call this a disappointment since the materials were there for something much better.

A great cast in an average movie. This film is a weird one and the story kind of stalls in a few places. If you like Sci fi films this aint the best movie ever but it is worth the watch.

This wasn't as bad as I had been led to believe and was often nightmarish as well as gripping. I understand it was a troubled production and that may explain the uneven lurches in action. This film was saved by the excellent and committed performances by the actors who played the animals, who were really heartbreaking. Wells himself had an ambivalent attitude to the human race and was said to have had certain facist sympathies. However, Any philisophical points tended to be drowned by the rather garish direction. Brando's accent seemed wrong for the modern day setting of the film as well. A sad and distressing film that is well worth a look.

It's an excitingly produced remake of ¨Island of the lost souls¨ with Marlon Brando heading a solid casting as a nutty doctor who develops a process of transforming animals into half-humans at an desolated tropical island . Through DNA experimentation Brando has upset the balance of nature. By turning animals into humans, he's turned heaven into hell . It starts when David Thewlis is rescued at sea by Val Kilmer and brought to a strange island where he's terrified to discover the terrible genetic experiments realized by Dr. Moreau , a former prize Nobel winner .

Passable horror-fantasy chiller that is developed up and down with some lousy moments and in other side contains eerie and thrilling scenes. It results to be a strong rendition of H.G. Wells' novel about an isolated scientific who has spent several years creating half-animals turning beasts into half-human . Good secondary cast as Fauriza Balk , William Hootkins and Temuera Morrison . Ron Perlman's sturdy acting , displaying a magnificent portrayal of one of the beasts . Watchable by excellent makeup by the late Stan Winston . Colorful cinematography filmed in Queensland , Australia , by the classic cameraman William A. Fraker and atmospheric musical score by Gary Chang . The motion picture is middlingly directed by John Frankenheimer and the director's cut version runs several minutes more . The movie will appeal to Brando devotees and Val Kilmer fans who will want to check out their excessive performances . Other adaptation based on H.G. Wells' known novel are the following : The classic of 1933 titled ¨The island of lost souls¨ by Erle C. Kenton with Charles Laughton , Kathleen Burke , Bela Lugosi and Richard Arlen ; and 1977 retelling by Don Taylor with Burt Lancaster , Michael York , Barbara Carrera and Nigel Davenport .

This movie gets a bad rap -- viewers say Brando plain sucks and that it butchers a good Wells story. Perhaps the latter is true, but I consider Brando, as the mad doctor, a fine choice and, while he is rather subdued, he is still the candid, self-conscious actor we all know and love. He practically mumbles his lines as his mouth is lined with cotton and (probably) cheeseburgers. And, the scene where Brando plays piano along with his "pre Mini-Me" sidekick is a classic. Now, I know Brando refused to learn his lines for this movie and Kilmer is known for being a real ass to work with, but the in-production feuds add to the aura of this film. These characters aren't supposed to like each other and the tension fills the air. The special effects are top notch, albeit gruesome and a bit overdone. It all adds to the feel of the movie. I have this movie on tape and watch it again and again, alongside "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," "Taxi Driver," "Rear Window" and "Dr. Strangelove." If you thought you shouldn't see this based on other user's comments, put your expectations aside and just enjoy!