This is not as terrible a film as I originally believed it to be. Actually I never really thought it was that terrible at all, but I may have been being a bit generous just because I enjoy these kinds of movies. The pace of the film is incredibly slow and lacks any sort leading character or protagonist for the audience
to relate to or have things explained for them. Not all films need this sort of thing, but in a film like this, it's absolutely necessary. The effects work is fantastic and the story is pretty good, but it creeps along without a proper focus. The gore peppered throughout the film is also a bit jarring. Now, I like gore, but it feels out of character for what the filmmakers were trying to achieve with this. It tries to play things realistically and just let the gore be the gore, but it doesn't work well within the confines of a PG-rated environment. Personally, I enjoy it, but it is problematical, and contains definite allusions to J.R.R. Tolkien - intentional or not. :)
March 12, 2008
