Yes, I realize that the story of Hugo Cabret isn't spec fic. It's a realistic tale based in 1930s Paris which deals with the life of a real movie maker Georges Melies. However, the imagery in the film was stunning, and it was, after all, about a man who brought fantasy into movie making. So that's my excuse for including it in this blog :)
On to the review. I'll talk about both the book and the movie here.
World-Building: Spectacular (I realize this isn't rating isn't even on my scale, but the film deserved it!)
Characterization: Great
Plot: Good - takes it's time, but doesn't drag
I read the book "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" recently and found it pretty good, although I was aware that I was reading a children's book, just because of the language used and the reliance on pictures. The pictures and illustrations were central to the book, and while they didn't leave a huge impression on me because I personally just wanted to get to the next chunk of text I think the author was absolutely right to include them. They not only made it a pleasure for children, they also nicely reflected the subject-matter of the story. A book about movies and the magic of movie-making should definitely include good use of imagery. The images in the book presented a challenge to anyone wishing to make a movie out of it and Martin Scorcese and his visuals team rose to that challenge.
The film was not only a visual masterpiece, it also did not have the "children's story" feel. I don't have a lot of experience with 3D movies as I never caught Avatar in the cinemas and the last one I went to, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2," convinced me that 3D was a total waste of money, but after reading some reviews online I decided I needed to give this a chance. During the 3D commercials before the movie my eyes began to water and my head began to hurt. I was starting to regret my decision, but as soon as the movie itself began I was lost inside Hugo's world. It opens with an awesome scene featuring nighttime Paris and the clockwork at the train station and then continues to effortlessly bring the viewer into the movie and give them the feeling that they are really sitting or standing just beside a character or looking through a small window with Hugo.
Asa Butterfield does an excellent job as Hugo. I'm now convinced this kid is going to have a long and successful acting career. His performance in Nanny McPhee 2 was ok, but not spectacular, but when I saw him play Mordred in BBC's Merlin I was convinced of his talent. His work in Hugo confirms this talent. There are also various excellent adult actors that play small roles in the film. LoTR's Saruman (Christopher Lee) is the owner of a bookshop at the train station and Madame Maxime and Uncle Vernon from Harry Potter also own shops there. The Station Inspector is awesome, and he has a wonderful story arc that develops his character in a way that wasn't present in the book.
Some reviewers have called this movie too long, and some people say the second part especially where we get George Melies' story is kind of boring, but I personally found the plot well done. It's not an action movie, and it doesn't pretend to be. They even took out some of the action/conflict parts of the book! I was actually quite pleased with the slower pace, especially when it came to the dialogue. Characters take their time speaking and there are silences and realistic pauses in conversation. Unlike some other movies I didn't feel the need to rewind a section three times in order to understand what people just said. It's refreshing.
Another refreshing contrast with recent films is the brightness and color. There were no dark scenes that left me squinting and feeling like I was missing stuff. Everything in this film is bright and vibrant.
Overall, I would highly recommend this movie for the excellent world-building, visuals, and characterization.
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