The Nutcracker and the Four Realms

The visuals and costumes are stunning. That's literally the only positive thing I have to say about this movie. Everything else about it is bad. It's a shame, because the director has made some really great stuff. (Captain America: The First Avenger, and 1995's "Jumanji".). The main issue was the plot. The plot was all over the place. I remember very little about it. It was a muddled mess of a movie. The acting was way over the top. Keira Knightly usually does so well, but, sadly she is the worst one here. Every single line is over enunciated or overacted. I think doing all those Pirates movies with Johnny Depp rubbed off on her, because it's like watching a female Johnny Depp. The film, rather than telling the story of the Nutcracker, which is a fine story, and if they had stuck with the original story it probably would have been fine, decides to tell a completely different story, that is very, very, loosely tied to the story. I think the only thing it shares with the original story is the title. It was trying to imitate too many other fantasy movies. Wizard of Oz, 2010's Alice in Wonderland, Narnia. It spent too much time trying to distract with flashy visuals, when it should have been focusing on the story  and acting, and it suffers greatly for it. This movie has no audience. Kids won't like it, because the scary visuals will scare them, and adults will find it boring. This movie is probably the closest thing to being on acid that I will ever experience. Skip this one. See if a local theatre is doing a production of the original "Nutcracker" instead. And if not, I'm sure there are many taped versions out there that are a better way to spend your time than with this movie.

Grade: D     6/10      2/5 stars