L'île aux sorciers

adventures, magic practices, souls, cruel necromancer, family crisis, good performance of Lucas Munk Billing. so, in great measure, nothing new. or impressive. a slice for great fashion of teenagers. a game with many things to create mysteries, tension, a nice thriller, perfect scene for victory of good guys. few drops of love story and same special effects are perfect ingredients for this film far from great ambitions. but who is the public ? few people, like me, for who an interesting title and a story with souls trip are not bad recipes for waste of time. because all is an innocent game. same instruments for create ( fake ) emotions, same incarnation of evil in Gothic style, same fight between hero and his powerful enemy. same usual victory. nothing else. so, only a game.

I went in to see this movie, not knowing what to expect, but went out totally blown away. I am a fan of the fantasy-genre, which of course helps, but still, I was impressed. First of all, the special effects are awesome. The best I have seen, except for LOTR and maybe Harry Potter. Second, the acting is very good, especially Lars Mikkelsen as the super-villain (played with a very nice edge, even more than usual for the genre) and Lukas Munk Billing as the possessed little boy. But what impressed me most was the writing. The dialog is hilarious throughout the movie, with a very brilliant dark humor, but at the same time doesn't compromise the sense of doom or fall back on kliché (too much). This movie takes itself seriously and it doesn't talk down to you, as is so often seen in kids-movies. And that makes it a very scary movie. I saw kids at 11 and 12 in the cinema, and they had no place there. Unfortunately, the final cutting could have been a little better. A little of the tension disappears at times, but still almost a masterpiece. Go see it!

First of all, I'd like to tell you this: I am male, 25, and I had no expectations whatsoever when I saw this, just thought it would be interesting to see.

The plot: An EVIL wizard, whose name of course is NECROMANCER, which is also what he does, more or less, has possessed the body of a young boy, and now his older sister and her sorta boyfriend has to save him (and the world), by defeating the necromancer, using the help of a deceased member of a secret society that used to fight necromancers in the olden days. They also get some help from a guy who conveniently has built a soul-catcher (what are the odds)..

The verdict: Although this movie isn't terrible, the leading actress really doesn't seem to have a clue about acting, and in many scenes she just has this blank stare and seems quite uninterested, making us lose some interest in the movie, where she feigns being scared, sad, etc.

The special effects are very well-made for a Danish movie, and most of the supporting cast does a good job. But the story and plot isn't very logical, and there are quite a few things that makes no sense, or are extremely far-fetched and laughable.

All this doesn't matter though, as Nicolai Arcel has hordes of thousands of fans that have seen KONGEKABALE, and almost every Dane (from "Familien Danmark") just loves everything he or anyone else touches, especially if it looks like something straight out of Hollywood. I will not be popular for saying this, and I know many Danes will be mad at me for telling the truth here, as it apparently is every Danes duty to praise everything Nordisk Film (or whatever Danish film-distributor) makes, no matter how crappy it is. Especially stuff like "Store Planer" and "Overcoming".

BUT, not all I say is criticism, because this movie will be PERFECT for children, no doubt. If you have a child (or a child's brain), then this movie is the right choice. If you're an adult who likes good movies, then you will probably cringe at the acting and frown over the plot, although it may be somewhat entertaining on a lower level. 4/10

One of the best danish directors right now is Nikolaj Arcel! T his guy is surely capable of directing one of those big blockbusters. His care for details is huge, and you can feel throughout the movie that he likes what he is doing.

If you like Harry Potter or Narnia, you will like this one too! The plot is one of those good old adventures about the battle between the good and the evil, souls, ghosts, dark creatures and evil sorcerer.

The special effects in this movie is insanely well done, and is just as good or perhaps better than the effects of the rescent Potter-movies.

The acting is great, considering we are dealing with teenagers and small children. The older actors are some of the best danish actors right now, Anders W. Berthelsen is always a pleasure to watch, and Lars Mikkelsen is frightening as the Necromancer. If Ralph Fiennes didn't play Voldemort, Lars would!

If you expect a Hollywood blockbuster, you'll be disappointed. If you expect a fun and great story with a perfect plot, you might be disappointed. If you just want to be entertained and are tired of "Anja & Viktor" or "Tempelriddernes skat" (The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar), you will not be disappointed. For a Danish film, the visual effects are amazing. It is in a way "our" version of 'Star Wars' - if you compare where Danish film is right now, and what Nikolaj Arcelhave done, this IS our 'Star Wars'. But most of all, it's just fun. And is that not what movies like "The Goonies" ('85) have to be? It's just damn good fun. It's not perfect, but hey! Neither was or is 'Star Wars'. I would love to see more of this "Hollywood" competition coming from Danish directors, and not only in terms of visual effects. I would like to see the Danish film producers "try harder".