A lot has been said of this movie and to be honest, after seeing it, I don't fully understand all the hype surrounding it. It is a really good looking movie with two pretty interesting stories but it does very little that is groundbreaking to the extent that it has been given credit. For the purposes of this review I will disregard the hype. The movie is beautifully shot by Guillermo del Toro who I have been a fan of since Blade II. He handles the fantasy and reality brilliantly and really brings the two together seamlessly. The screen wipe cuts get annoying by the end though.
The acting is pretty good. Sergi López does an amazing job of making Captain Vidal a seriously twisted character.
The stories are compelling and you will always be interested in what's coming next in either storyline. They are handled and balanced well and, thematically, play off each other in an interesting way.
The visuals are great (again not as 'visionary' as I was expecting from the hype but amazing nonetheless). Some of them are a little intense so a word of caution to the faint of heart. The music is great for this type of movie and you'll find yourself humming the theme for the next few days.
All in all, if you have the inclination to, the movie can be dissected and analyzed for further enjoyment but is also interesting on the surface for the casual movie-goer. Toss the hype out the window and enjoy the ride.
Score: 3 and a half eyes on a plate (out of 5)
Uno Directo Discurso (that's "a direct speech" for you non-Spanish speakers out there):
"Mercedes, do you believe in fairies?"
"No. But when I was a little girl, I did. I believed in a lot of things I don't believe anymore."
"Last night a fairy visited me."
Guillermo del Toro was daydreaming while writing and directing. Sergi López, Ivana Baquero and Maribel Verdú lived in fantasy and reality.
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