Mysterious Island
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Movie Reviews of Mysterious Island
Movie Review: Wonderful if you like Kyle, Patrick or Big Bugs
Summary: 4 Stars
I very much enjoyed this film due primarily to the appearances of Kyle Maclachlan and Patrick Stewart. Most of the main actors were very good in this. The photography was beautiful, especially the long shots of the island, and the balloon shots at the beginning. The bugs and other CGI effects were a bit chintzy. The DVD has a little bit more on it than was seen on Hallmark Channel. On TV it was presented as a single 3-hour event including commercials. Without even a thorough viewing of the DVD, I was able to spot additional sequences, many of them being additional beautiful photography. Of course, additional beginning and end credits for the 2-part miniseries lengthens it somewhat, but clearly there must be at least 20 minutes additional footage here. Plus the interviews and featurette on the set were very interesting. While some of the pirate ship antics were predictable and not well-acted, people who enjoy this sort of thing will like this film. I'm not crazy about the big bugs in general, so I skim through them to get onto the dialogue of the real people. Enjoy.Movie Review: Jurassic Park, Pirates of Carribean and a mad scientist
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a nice re-make of 60s sci-fi movie of the same title. The story-line and major characters are similar to that of 1961 movie which is an entertaining but suffers the outdated F/X works. But this is post-Jurassic Park film and the movement of the giant monsters are really convincing just like seeing the Jurassic Park. Also another development is that newer version made pirate charecters greater roles. Treasure hunting plot added the island another mystery. But I doubt the Captain Nemo's character creation works well. In this version Captain Nemo is someone like a mad scientist. It is his assistant who plays the Samaritan role and Nemo seems to care only of his work to create the weapon of mass destruction to end the war. It has a lot of action scenes and is enjoyable. But I am not sure if Jerne Verne fans will also love this movie version.
Verdict: Giant creatures remade with the latest CG works.
Rating: 85 out of 100
Recommended for: Monster movies fans who loves the sort of Jurassic Park.
Movie Review: A pleasant surprise
Summary: 4 Stars
Though some reviews of this adventure miniseries have been unfavorable, the movie successfully recreates the feeling of Saturday matinee serials, as well as the Harryhausen film of 1961 which clearly inspired it. Purists seem to have been disappointed with changes from Verne's original novel, but this Hallmark production owes more to the Cy Endfield version, and in that respect, it's entertaining, colorful, delightfully improbable, and (for a TV film) sumptuous. Enough monsters, swordfights, pirates, treasure, action, scenery, and humor for five films, and the pacing is brisk. Performances manage to engage, with Patrick Stewart's Captain Nemo a standout. Set design is very elaborate, and the film has great visual beauty. Perfect for eight and ten year olds, this fanciful and endearingly childlike "lost world" adventure is priced right to buy, for fans.Movie Review: A Whole New Treatment
Summary: 3 Stars
Escapees from a Civil War prison camp have their balloon blown to the Pacific where they find refuge on an island. But it is a dangerous island where giant animals run free and man is on the dinner list. But safely hidden away is a recluse and his manservant. The recluse is Captain Nemo. He offers aid to the refugees if they help him with his work. Nemo is creating a bomb that can destroy an entire city. The idea being that when men see how destructive war can be they will stop practicing war altogether because the consequences are to high. Needles to say the refugees refuse to help and they are sent out into the dangerous jungle.
But once in the jungle there are other dangers waiting. A legendary pirate treasure lures deadly pirates to the island. Nemo does not like the pirates but he refuses to help though the manservant does not agree. Finally the forces of good unite to repel the pirates and things pretty much work out.
This is not true to the book or even other film versions and many reviewers will point it out and complain that the story should be true to the original. Of course the original was a sequel to 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA and it was not true to that so even Verne is at fault. But there are worse things wrong that not being true to the book. The balloon is blown over 6,000 miles against the trade winds. The characters survive with a single canteen and no food (that must have been a super-fast balloon). Arial shots show the volcano on the back side of the island but it is usually down the beach in ground shots. It is said the island is uncharted by any man. I am sure Nemo knows where it is. Plus, the pirates have no problems finding it and other survivors have brought out tales of monsters. The end has a moment that implies the survivors will not survive past the credits 9unintentional I am sure but there just the same). The thing in the cave has tentacles according to the shadows but turns out to be spiders later on. Nemo gets stuck for no reason. No mention of the seaworthiness of his vessel is ever made so one has to wonder why he doesn't just drive it away (ho obviously plans to leave and use his weapon). There are too many monsters to be supported on the island. Many of them pass through vegetation due to bad coordination between the sets and the CGI.
It is a fun story but it could have made more sense by just changing a few lines. There was no need to keep brining in new monsters. Just a couple that kept showing up would have done the same job and seemed less ridiculous. But it is fun and full of action which is probably what was trying to be done. If you want entertainment then this qualifies. If you want true Jules Verne, then this does not. Check it out.
Movie Review: Hmmmm. Interesting.
Summary: 3 Stars
I wasn't expecting much, and I was mostly happy as such.
I received "Mysterious Island" for X-mas when I was 11, and it is one of my favorite reads after Michael Strogoff.
The Harryhausen movie was a television staple at the time, and I saw it and was disappointed at the changes. This time, I expected the changes and was less disappointed.
Patrick Stewart, Kyle McLachlan and Gabrielle Anwar put in solid performances, as I expected. The cast was part of the reason I bought the DVD. The story was revised in an interesting way, with Stewart appearing almost immediately. My major disappointments were: 1) the occasional poor integration between live shots and scenery CGI, especially in the flying scenes; and 2) the cookie-cutter pirates taken right out the Caribbean, despite the movies South Pacific location and Southeast Asian scenery. The soundtrack is definitely a flashback to the 60's/70's B-movie tracks and it occasionally illiceted a laugh, detracting from the movie itself.
Accept the movie for what it is and enjoy, but keep in mind that it might be a little scary for the younger kids.