Wow, wow, wow has it been a long time! Sorry I've been absent for so long pals! There just haven't been any good movies out lately. But... you're in luck because I've a got a double feature for you all! That's right folks, I went to the theater not once, but twice this weekend! For this post I will be reviewing the new Disney film, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. As much as I've missed you all I think we should go ahead and get started. LET'S DO IT!
PLOT:
This film tells the story we all know and love (or not...depending on who you are) but with a twist. Clara (Mackenzie Foy) is a bit of an outcast in her family. She likes to play in the attic, living in her imagination. She's also quite the inventor always creating things and trying to figure out puzzles. It's Christmas Eve and her father (Matthew Macfadyen) has called her along with her brother and sister down to receive a gift left for each of them from their late mother. Clara and her father aren't as close as they used to be after the death of her mother. Her father has become very reserved and has a hard time connecting with Clara. He hands her the present and inside is an egg-shaped box. It has a key hole but no key. She's determined to find the key or a way to open the present because she believes that whatever is inside must be important.
That evening her and her family attend her godfather's (Morgan Freeman) annual Christmas party. Every year he sets up a sort of scavenger hunt for all the kids to find their presents. Clara finds the string with her name on it and begins to follow it. The string seems to go on forever and leads her into a dark hallway which then opens to a snowy field. The hallway was a fallen tree and the string led her to another realm. At the end of the string is the key to her mother's gift. She goes to reach for it but a mouse snatches it and runs away with it. She chases him but loses track of him. In her haste she spots a bridge. She goes over to it where she meets the nutcracker (Jayden Fowora-Knight) guarding it. He agrees to help her locate the key. On their journey they come to a dark forest ruled by Mother Ginger (Helen Mirren). Mother Ginger has betrayed the others and wants to take over the realms. She goes for Clara but her and the nutcracker escape her grasp.
They then enter the kingdom where they meet the leaders of the other three realms, Sugar Plum (Keira Knightley), Hawthorne (Eugenio Derbez), and Shiver (Richard E. Grant). They tell her about Mother Ginger's plans to take over the realms and need Clara's help to stop her. Clara and the Nutcracker do everything they can to help save the realms but everything and everyone are not what they seem.
REVIEW:
This movie was interesting... To be honest I don't really know too much about the story of the Nutcracker except for that it is originally a ballet and there are mice in it. I was fascinated to see this movie because well, it's Disney. It also looked like an interesting story that had a twist to it. It also had some great key players from Keira Knightley to Helen Mirren. It had the looks of a hit. Let's just say this movie definitely did not live up to my expectations.
Let's start with the plot. Like I said the story looked interesting but it just didn't work. It moved way too fast. We thought one thing was happening and then they'd pull the rug out from under your feet and something else was happening but not in a good way. It didn't feel cohesive. It felt choppy, like it didn't know the direction it wanted to take. Also some characters just seemed wasted, like they didn't have a purpose. Also, look I love Keira Knightley, I think she's wonderful, but in this movie she just grated on my nerves. Her voice, her character, her actions just didn't work for me.
So this story is supposed to add a twist to the original and that includes plot twists but nothing surprised me in this movie. I could see the big reveal coming. I knew what was going to happen and when it did I wasn't shocked. This movie also takes a classic story about adventure and Christmas and made it into a sort of war movie. It just didn't work. There were too many changes and deviations from the original story. It was also hard to really connect with any of the characters because the story moved so quickly. I did feel some connection with Clara but with the rest of the characters, I honestly could have cared less about what happened to them. They're just briefly introduced and we're automatically expected to connect with them and care for them. The story and the characters all felt so hollow, there wasn't really any soul to the movie.
The strongest performances for me were Mackenzie Foy as Clara and Helen Mirren as Mother Ginger. Clara is our point-of-view character who we spend the most time with. I thought Mackenzie did a great job of carrying the film and being our eyes for the story. She had a nice screen presence and kept the audience engaged. I also thought Helen Mirren did a good job which is a shame because she wasn't in it nearly as much as she should have been. You could tell she was enjoying herself with this performance, that she was having fun.
So as you can see I wasn't a huge fan of this film. There were some positive elements to this movie including the set designs and coloring. It was a bright film and it was pretty to look at. It easily captured the eye but the story itself wasn't nearly as strong. One sequence I enjoyed was at the end during the credits (don't worry I'm not spoiling anything) they had ballerinas dancing to the original ballet. They then brought in a break dancer with a modern version of the ballet and I thought that was really cool how they juxtaposed those two forms of dance with the two forms of music.
PARENTS GUIDE:
This film is rated PG. There are what could be considered some scary scenes for young children and there is a bit of violence but not much. I think this is a good children's film but it's up to you parents.
OVERALL RATING:
For this film I will give it a...
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms: 3/10
I gave it this rating because although it looked nice and there were a couple of good performances, overall I think this was a weak movie that moved too fast and tried too hard to be original and different.
CONCLUSION:
Well there you have it folks! I hope you enjoyed this review and as always thanks for visiting. Please be sure to leave a comment or suggestion and tell your friends! Also don't be afraid to see this movie. Although I didn't like it much it could be a completely different experience for you. I saw it with my sister and she loved it. It just depends on the viewer so don't let my review dissuade you from seeing this movie if you really want to see it. Until next time!
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