| Since the Harry Potter market provided to be such lucrative opportunity for film making, it was only a matter of time, that an onslaught for the next big book series would be thrust upon us. From the 'Caster Chronicle' stable comes the first instalment of a new hope - Beautiful Creatures. In the void that Twilight is about to leave, I would say there are 3 competitors fighting to usurp the crown of the angsty, teenage, supernatural action-drama. 1. The Host, also written by Twilight's Stephanie Meyer and set to be a trilogy...once the other 2 books are written. 2. Mortal Instruments - a 6 series book-set that will probably rival Harry Potter more than Twilight and of course... 3. Beautiful Creatures which is a series of 4 books. In sitting down to watch the film I really wasn't expecting very much and with a 2 hour running time I was perplexed as to what this supposedly simple story had to say for 120 minutes. But I'll admit straight of the bat - I was pleasantly surprised. There are moments in the BC's script where the banter is quite lyrical and I always appreciate efforts that go against a cliche speeches, that are just there to serve the plot. "Throw into the mix a love plot with minor angst, a small town mentality that no teenager needs to face and two sides trying to manipulate which way Lena falls, and you, like I, will probably find that this is more than enough drama, to hold anyone's attention."  |
The story that unfolds is of Lena Duchannes played by Alice Englert, who is fast approaching her 16th birthday. Born to a family of casters (an uppity name for witches) Lena is set to evolve into the next stage of her power upon her birthday. Simultaneously, she will be claimed either by the 'dark' or the 'light' powers that surround and imbue the casters creed, in short she will be versioned to be good or evil. Unfortunately there is also a curse at work, that will probably...and I mean 99.99999% see her becoming straight-up evil. Throw into the mix a love plot with minor angst, a small town mentality that no teenager needs to face and two sides trying to manipulate which way Lena falls, and you, like I, will probably find that this is more than enough drama to hold anyone's attention.
The film was entertaining enough from start to end.
Emma Thompson is great in her dual roles, you can clearly see that she had a good time on set. Viola Davis delivered an emotional bridge between humans and casters and Mr. Irons' southern accent only dropped once or twice, but he still has that veteran's acting prowess that commands us to closely watch him whenever he is on screen. The two teen leads are also good, especially Alden Ehenreich as Evan.
The film has heart, a solid story, good effects and definitely a premise for sequels.
*It has been interesting to note that on fan forums the film gets slated, people who have read the books say that this is a very poor adaptation.
Rating 7/10
The film was entertaining enough from start to end.
Emma Thompson is great in her dual roles, you can clearly see that she had a good time on set. Viola Davis delivered an emotional bridge between humans and casters and Mr. Irons' southern accent only dropped once or twice, but he still has that veteran's acting prowess that commands us to closely watch him whenever he is on screen. The two teen leads are also good, especially Alden Ehenreich as Evan.
The film has heart, a solid story, good effects and definitely a premise for sequels.
*It has been interesting to note that on fan forums the film gets slated, people who have read the books say that this is a very poor adaptation.
Rating 7/10
 The Hunger Games - Catching Fire Review |  The Host Review |  Mortal Instruments: City of Bones Review |
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