Pan's Labyrinth: steaming pile of shit

[Ediacara]

This film is quite possibly worse than Crash.

The film is not as advertised. Ofelia's fantasy-land accounts for possibly 20% of the actual movie, and is boring and unessential. Gratuitous gore, in a way that makes Apocolypto look tame, accounts for the remainder. And what could be more gratuitous than the gore? Heavy-handed grade-school foreshadowing. By the end of the movie, do we care what happens to Ofelia, Mercedes, or Capt. Vidal? I sure didn't...

How so many critics could get it so wrong on this film, I'll never understand...

[YellowRubberDuckie]

1. Thanks for the review...

Now that you hated it, I'll probably enjoy it. WE're going to see it today.
Duckie

[Ediacara]

5. Be prepared for a great deal of gore

And I don't mean Al...

[YellowRubberDuckie]

12. It really wasn't that bad...

It was very tastefully done. I loved it. The story was great, the imagery was moving, and the acting was superb. It was an all round great flick.
Duckie

[pintobean]

16. I agree, Duckie

I enjoyed it and my daughter loved it.

[Frank Cannon]

2. Well, I LIKED Crash

So if it's only possible that this movie is worse than that, it can't be too bad.

Think I'll go see it this week. The makeup/effects look awesome.

[Ediacara]

6. The makeup and effects are awesome

That's what seperates it from a run of the mill 80s horror flick.

[driver8]

3. Which Crash?

The one with people who get turned on by car crashes or the one with Matt Dillon, Sandra Bullock, etc...?

[Ediacara]

7. The lame ensamble piece from 2005

[BreweryYardRat]

4. I'll agree with you on not being as advertised.

I will, however, disagree that it was a bad movie. My opinion's neutral.

And (having not seen Apocalypto) I'll wager that Labyrinth was less gory.

[Ediacara]

8. I've seen both, Apocolypto was less gory

I was really unimpressed by the story and the writing, and the gore and violence was simply gratuitous. Simply: if Capt Vidal's men can avert their eyes while he bludgeons a man's face with a glass bottle, the camera can do us the same courtesy after say the second blow, and not the twentieth.

[Shine]

9. Uh oh....I liked Crash!!

am I gonna get flamed now??? :scared:

:D

I actually want to check out Pan's Labryinth cuz visually, anyway, it looks amazing and incredibly creative.


Thank god for differences, eh? That's what I say.


:hi:

[Ediacara]

10. I know that Crash is a REALLY LOVED IT or REALLY HATED IT movie

I am clearly in the "hated it" group.

But Pan's Labyrinth is simply not as advertised and Ofelia's fantasy world is a very minor and honestly unimportant part of the film. There's a huge amount of gratuitous gore and violence going on with the real world, which is peopled by characters that honestly, I could care less about.

[Susang]

11. Have you ever seen a Guillermo del Toro picture?

All of them are moody, dark and often violent. They almost always have some kind of monster. I'd recommend The Devil's Backbone or Chronos if you had any interest in seeing any of his previous work.


Perhaps you hated Pan's Labyrinth because of your preconceived idea of what the film was going to be and were disappointed when it turned out differently?

[ghostsofgiants]

13. The Devil's Backbone is great.

I haven't seen Chronos, perhaps I should check it out.

[BlueIris]

14. Well, how did so many critics "enjoy" shite like "The Life of David Gale,"

or the film adaptation of "RENT"?

[YellowRubberDuckie]

15. I personally loved David Gale.

It was interesting, and the twist at the end was amazing. The movie truly made my angry, but in a good way. Never listen to critics. Just do what I do. If DU hates it, it's probably a great movie.
Duckie

[Bucky]

17. I loved Pan's Labyrinth. I wasn't expecting surprises and I sure wasn't expecting the rebel story

And yet the whole thing held together for me. Instead of getting straight up escapism, it showed us why people wanted to escape, why it was necessary. The ending was a little misleading, in that the fascists continued to rule Spain for another thirty years. But I found the cruelty of the fantasy world to be a refreshing change from the Disneyfied shlock we usually see. It had texture, passion, and magical realism. It wasn't earth-shatteringly profound, but it was the most beautiful movie I've seen in a long time.