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MirrorMask (2005)

tomatometer

54

Average Rating: 5.8/10
Reviews Counted: 89
Fresh: 48 | Rotten: 41

While visually dazzling, there isn't enough story to hang all the fancy effects on.

44

Average Rating: 5.7/10
Critic Reviews: 27
Fresh: 12 | Rotten: 15

While visually dazzling, there isn't enough story to hang all the fancy effects on.

audience

76

liked it
Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 68,124

My Rating

Movie Info

Celebrated sci-fi writer Neil Gaiman, who created the Sandman series, scripted this visually adventurous fantasy. Helena (Stephanie Leonidas) is a 15-year-old girl who has spent nearly her entire life on the road, traveling with her parents Joanne and Morris (Gina McKee and Rob Brydon), who make a living as circus performers. One night, Helena wishes for a quieter and more stable life, only to panic when her mother falls seriously ill, ending up in the hospital. Afraid she's caused her mother's

Jan 10, 2006

$0.8M

Samuel Goldwyn Films

Cast

All Critics (100) | Top Critics (27) | Fresh (51) | Rotten (42) | DVD (19)

Could be Exhibit A for anyone arguing the case that modern filmmaking lacks a strong sense of story.

October 28, 2005 Full Review Source: Toronto Star | Comment
Toronto Star
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Leonidas walks this tightrope quite engagingly, showing us a girl on the cusp of womanhood, torn between two competing needs -- to become an adult, to remain a child, to vilify, to revere.

October 28, 2005 Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | Comment
Globe and Mail
Top Critic IconTop Critic

McKean's inexperience as a director trips the film. There is so much going on that the viewer can't take in all the imagery, and McKean's devotion to his skewed vision slows the story to a crawl.

October 27, 2005 Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | Comment
Arizona Republic
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Too long, and too rich, for its own good, but clearly Gaiman and McKean were bursting with ideas. Those ideas fly all over the place, sometimes landing with a thunk, but more often taking the breath away.

October 21, 2005 Comment
Philadelphia Inquirer
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A 30-minute idea wrapped in a 100-minute movie. It's a jewel box filled with cubic zirconia.

October 21, 2005 Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | Comment
Orlando Sentinel
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The narrative is simplistic and lacking in energy, and the characters are sketched instead of fully formed.

October 21, 2005 Full Review Source: ReelViews | Comment
ReelViews
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Mirrormask eventually establishes itself as an thoroughly interminable piece of work that substitutes endless creativity for context and character development...

February 1, 2012 Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | Comment
Reel Film Reviews

Dense, dreamlike fantasy isn't for every kid.

December 15, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media

The Blu-ray version of MirrorMask includes some nice extras.

January 5, 2009 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | Comment
Apollo Guide

The story is interesting, in a twisted fairytale sort of way, but the novelty of this dream world does eventually wear off, and we're left checking our watches.

January 5, 2009 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | Comment
Apollo Guide

MirrorMask proves that a movie can be brilliant and awful at the same time.

July 18, 2008 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | Comment
eFilmCritic.com

It has a strange sweetness and a playful darkness to it.

November 15, 2006 Full Review Source: DVD Clinic | Comment
DVD Clinic

Illustrates the power of cultural archetypes like Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz to infiltrate our psyches and imaginations.

February 8, 2006 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

This one-of-a-kind fantasy film may be seen as a classic someday, possibly quite soon.

February 7, 2006 Full Review Source: MTV | Comment
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for MirrorMask

This is a really splendid visual feast. Neil Gaiman's story, Jim Hensons Company and Davie Mckea produce a wonderful feast for the eyes with a nifty little fantasy story. Well done.

June 6, 2008
jmanard52

Super Reviewer

Way too much surrealism for my taste, but I gotta give credit to the creators for making something so incredibly imaginative. I really wanted to like it more than I did, but the visual style just wasn't my cup of tea. In fact, I was rather annoyed and put off by it. Nice performance by Stephanie Leonidas though. The

June 8, 2007
CloudStrife84
Mike S

Super Reviewer

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Foreign Titles

  • The Mirror Mask (FR)
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