One Word Movie Review: A Christmas Carol
Meh.
This one was quite the head scratcher. It wasn't that the movie was bad because, actually, it wasn't bad at all. The story was a faithful adaptation. The animation was good. A little lifeless in parts but good nonetheless. The characters were spot on. In fact Jim Carrey did a really good job of playing Ebeneezer Scrooge and the three ghosts.
So what's not to like?
Hard to say really. Perhaps it's because over the years I must have watched almost every version of A Christmas Carol in existence. Many times over. So going to see yet another remake means it really has to do something special or different to stand out from the crowd. And, decent animation aside, it really didn't.
For me, the Patrick Stewart version is the standard by which all other Christmas Carols are judged. And this 2009 retelling didn't really come close. A good effort, but nothing special.
As an aside I was really quite surprised at how empty the theatre was for an opening weekend. We had the whole row to ourselves and there can't have been more than about 10 other people watching it. Maybe it's because it's still approaching 90° outside, perhaps a little difficult to get in the mood to watch a Christmas movie.
Um.. Patrick Stewart is great, but the Bill Murray version is clearly the standard. :-D
ren... oh I loved Scrooged. Loved it. And in my haste I totally forgot about it. Hmm. Now you've got me pondering whether I may have lavished too much praise on Patrick Stewart ;-)
Scrooged was good. So was Stewart's Carol. I guess it all depends on whether you're in the mood for the classic tale, or the funny tale.
jake... true dat. I think you have a point sir.
Hey, that's more than one word!!
When I saw the trailer for this I did think that the world doesn't really need another christmas carol film..
And the muppet version has it for me.
Ren is a wise, wise man. Bill Murray's version is the best.
dan... so I elaborated on the "meh" a bit ;-) Ah yes, the Muppet version. Classic that.
kapgar... he is wise, the Murray version is really really good. Not the best. But so good.
Scrooged is good, but what about the Muppet Christmas Carol, come on people it's got Michael Caine in!
jase... ha, too right. Michael Caine, Muppets - what's not to love right? ;-)
Echoing you and Ren with Scrooged. Loved it and it's a very good retelling of the Christmas Story.
As for this new version with Jim Carrey, I'm curious to see it, but I have a fear of the road Robert Zemeckis is going down with this motion capture-type of film making. The Polar Express was creepy on some levels, yet "Monster House" worked well. Haven't seen "Beowolf" yet, so can't judge that one, but if he isn't careful, Zemeckis will go down the John Hughes "Home Alone" sterotype and we'll all talk about how "Back To The Future" was great like "The Breakfast Club" was to Hughes.
Sorry for rambling, but I hate when directors get into ruts that limit their creative side.
marty... there's still somewhat of a creep factor in this movie as well. Something about their lifeless eyes I think. I haven't seen Monster House nor Beowolf so can't compare it to those. But I'll be sure to check them out.