Okay, I'm not going to lie, I loved this movie. It was incredibly entertaining and I found it hard to look away from the screen. However, from a critical standpoint, it was not exactly well put together. It wasn't really sure what genre it wanted to be, and felt like an awkward mash of romance, horror and crime drama, with often uncomfortable humour sprinkled throughout.
The way the story is portrayed in this film is terribly choppy, and while it starts off great with a lot of heart-wrenching moments, it gradually goes downhill into a cluttered, poorly thought-out mess. The flashbacks seem almost tacked-on, and some scenes in the second half of the film are just weird, for lack of a better word. The character development is clumsy, and the "laws" that come with Ig's horns are poorly addressed and can easily be misunderstood or missed completely, making the rest of the movie incredibly confusing for viewers who have not read the book.
However, I cannot ignore the good, even impressive components of this film, and why I was so generous with my rating even though I'm so critical of it.
First of all, Dan's acting is incredible. His American accent is seamless, and he truly is a very talented kid. He really steals the show with his whole act, his look, his voice, everything, even when he's reciting corny or awkward lines. For every awkward line, though, there's a truly powerful or moving one. There are some amazing, deep quotes in this movie that really make you think. Also, some of the shots in this movie are gorgeous. Shot mostly in Vancouver and other parts of BC, it really is gorgeous to look at.
So, while some scenes are hard to watch, while the ending may make you cringe, while it's cheesy, predictable, and every bit cliché, it's overall pretty harmless, and definitely a new guilty pleasure of mine.
The way the story is portrayed in this film is terribly choppy, and while it starts off great with a lot of heart-wrenching moments, it gradually goes downhill into a cluttered, poorly thought-out mess. The flashbacks seem almost tacked-on, and some scenes in the second half of the film are just weird, for lack of a better word. The character development is clumsy, and the "laws" that come with Ig's horns are poorly addressed and can easily be misunderstood or missed completely, making the rest of the movie incredibly confusing for viewers who have not read the book.
However, I cannot ignore the good, even impressive components of this film, and why I was so generous with my rating even though I'm so critical of it.
First of all, Dan's acting is incredible. His American accent is seamless, and he truly is a very talented kid. He really steals the show with his whole act, his look, his voice, everything, even when he's reciting corny or awkward lines. For every awkward line, though, there's a truly powerful or moving one. There are some amazing, deep quotes in this movie that really make you think. Also, some of the shots in this movie are gorgeous. Shot mostly in Vancouver and other parts of BC, it really is gorgeous to look at.
So, while some scenes are hard to watch, while the ending may make you cringe, while it's cheesy, predictable, and every bit cliché, it's overall pretty harmless, and definitely a new guilty pleasure of mine.
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