The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part
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Critics Consensus: Director Julie Taymor's gender-swapping of roles and some frenzied special effects can't quite disguise an otherwise stagey, uninspired take on Shakespeare's classic.
Critic Consensus: Director Julie Taymor's gender-swapping of roles and some frenzied special effects can't quite disguise an otherwise stagey, uninspired take on Shakespeare's classic.
All Critics (88) | Top Critics (31) | Fresh (27) | Rotten (61) | DVD (4)
The special effects are intrusive and anything but magical and the text is rather curiously edited. But it's worth seeing for Mirren.
Mirren is a powerful presence: maybe gender-bending Shakespeare is the only way to give Mirren the movie roles she deserves.
You expect Nicolas Cage to pop up from behind a sand dune on a Harley brandishing a rocket launcher.
Taymor, by turning Prospero into a woman while retaining an "imperialist" view of Caliban, will no doubt simultaneously please and enrage left-wing critics. The rest of us can enjoy the movie's strengths...
Primarily an exercise in eccentric (and, I would argue, empty) spectacle.
Normally I'd watch Helen Mirren in anything, even if she was just putting out the laundry or reading the phone book. But, given the roteness of her line readings here, it might have been better if the phone book rather than Shakespeare was her text.
With the exception of Ben Whishaw - who with the help of some imaginative CGI and his own beautiful verse-speaking - the rest of the actors mouth the lines without much élan.
Julie Taymor has a theatre director's idea of how movies work. That's not a compliment.
Dispensing with tableau compositions, this adaptation feels liberated from static theatrical and, to a lesser degree, cinematic convention by the overall openness of its staging and camerawork that's somewhere between handheld and Steadicam.
There are two reasons to watch The Tempest: if you're a fan of Shakespeare, or a fan of Helen Mirren.
Hundreds of years ago, Shakespeare would have never imagined this story could look like Taymor's vision.
Taymor tries a little too hard, neither breaking nor broken by the play, but ultimately losing the wrestling match. [Blu-ray]
This one is hard to keep up with because of languaged used, old english. Has a good plot. 3 stars
Super Reviewer
Once the Duchess of Milan, Prospera(Helen Mirren) has suffered through twelve years of exile which have done little to lower her ire at those she finds responsible. One day, she takes revenge by casting a spell through the sprite Ariel(Ben Whishaw) that capsizes the boat Antonio(Chris Cooper), the new duke, is traveling on with King Alonso(David Strathairn) of Naples, amongst others. Her teenaged daughter Miranda(Felicity Jones) manages to assuage her anger just in time. So she has them desposited safely on a beach somewhere on the island, with Alonso's son Ferdinand(Reeve Carney) arriving safely elsewhere. Now, with that all done, Caliban(Djimon Hounsou) would like to file a complaint... If all Julie Taymor had brought to this version of William Shakespeare's venerable play was its great look, impressive design and Helen Mirren, it would have gone a long way towards putting this definitely in the win column. Sad to say, she doesn't stop there, going overboard on the visual effects.(Just remember that the play is the thing.) Putting together a great supporting cast is usually a very good idea in cases like this. But here, it verges on stunt casting in a couple of prime examples and Taymor does little to rein them in, throwing the movie off balance in the bargain. That having been said, I now believe that Chris Cooper would fit in well no matter what movie he appears in.
Apparently very well made. Apparently very wonderful actors. Apparently Shakespeare was a genius. Apparently I just don't understand it....and I tried for an hour. I was lost....
Cast: Helen Mirren, Felicity Jones, Reeve Carney, Alfred Molina, Russell Brand, Djimon Hounsou, Chris Cooper, Alan Cumming, Tom Conti, David Strathairn, Ben Whishaw Director: Julie Taymor Summary: After years stranded on a deserted island, exiled duchess and sorceress Prospera (Helen Mirren) exacts vengeance on her enemies, whose passing vessel she has shipwrecked. What she doesn't know is that the ship also carries a potential suitor to her daughter (Felicity Jones). My Thoughts: "I hadn't heard of the film, seen a trailer, or read anything about it. But I seen Helen Mirren's name attached to it so I of course picked it up. Now not doing any of above and then seeing it was a WTF kind of moment for me. As I went back and forth from thinking bout turning it off or keep watching, I of course went with keep watching it. The longer I watched the more fascinated I became by this unconventional film. It's funny, entertaining, and it captivates you whether you want it to or not and draws you in. Not a film all will like, but it's sure one you can't help but watch."
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