I went to see Pan's Labrynth over the weekend with my fiance' and our friend, Maryanne. It was directed by Guillermo Del Toro (Blade II, Mimic, Hellboy). To tell you the truth, I was intrigued, but I didn't expect much...given that I was decidedly unimpressed with some of his other work ("The Devil's Backbone" comes to mind). It isn't bad work, but nothing that made me say "wow".
Yer probably waiting for me to say I was blown away, one way or the other.
My honest opinion, however is this: it's not too bad. Pretty good, in fact. I enjoyed the film, but I doubt I'll ever see it again. I have a system I use for rating movies, most likely not unlike yours. Basically, the scale runs: I'll buy it, I'll rent it again sometime, was good to watch and won't rent, not really good, and crap. This movie, to me, falls squarely in the "was good to watch and won't rent" range.
The special and makeup effects for the faun were very good, to be honest. I thought he was visually interesting and compelling...possibly the best part of the film for me.
Some of the scenes are remarkably shocking, but not really gory. The whole film does have the fractured fairy tale feel to it, or perhaps something Brothers Grimm might have written.
It is NOT a file for kids. Seriously. If you take your child to see it, you will most likely be explaining somse stuff...and might end up dealing with some bad dreams. Some of the things that happen are a little rough, and rough in that believable "real life" way that some movies manage. The fantasy parts are only slightly as disturbing as the real life elements....oy.
The version we saw was sub-titled, but you know, I prefer it that way. You don't get the natural inflection when you see dubbed movies. But be warned, if you dislike sub-titles, this isn't the film for you.
posted @ Tuesday, February 20, 2007 3:20 PM