Mysterious Island
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Movie Reviews of Mysterious Island
Movie Review: There's a mystery here
Summary: 1 Stars
Yessir, there is a real mystery in Jules Verne's Mysterious Island. The mystery is why people don't read the books they "adapt" into films. How very appropriate that they saw fit to put Verne's name in front of the title. This does distinguish it from every other mysterious island.
Ostensibly this one is a remake of the Ray Harryhausen film version of 1961, although no credit is given to that film or the Columbia Pictures serial of 1951 from whence plot elements were borrowed.
Patrick Stewart portrays the grumpiest Captain Nemo ever. Within the first half hour of this three hour opus, all the mysteries are explained. Then the story drifts into the territory of the teleseries "Lost." Having read the book, I was already lost.
It is nice that producers continue to keep the name of Jules Verne alive. Some life in this lackluster script would have been nice. If one is going to abandon plot ideas from the original, at least the ideas replacing them might be chosen from somewhere other than the bottom of the barrel.
A faithful rendering of the novel may be too much to ask, but if the name Hallmark is going to adorn the credits, then maybe the Hallmark tradition of the 1950's should be remembered. Back then plays were presented in sterling silver productions. This stainless steel one shows too much tarnish.
Movie Review: One word: Sad
Summary: 1 Stars
Having just read the book (most highly recommended) I decided to treat myself to the movie. I could have cried. While I did not expect the movie to contain everything from the book, I was sadly dissapointed to see that it totally changed the plot around.
In the book, the 5 men bonded together and were great men of character. In the movie, they got rid of one man, had the other eaten right off the bat, Pencroft is shown to be a coward and greedy. In the book, Nemo appears only in the last two or three chapters, and he does not have an elaborate home on the island.
And what about those stupid giant animals? I don't recall reading about them. The fence around Nemo's home looks like it came right from Jurassic Park.
The whole story was about 5 (eventually 6) men who were stranded on an uncharted island and the wonderful adventures they had there.
On another note, the graphics were pretty bad. The panning was very blurry and the picture was often grainy.
As one reviewer well said, it is suitable for children who are easily pleased, but it is nothing like the book.
Perhaps this is why Amazon sells it for only $6.99?
Movie Review: Why Hallmark movies stink
Summary: 1 Stars
There have been many very, very bad versions of the works of Jules Verne--especially "Journey to the Center of the Earth"--but none of them stink as badly as this piece of junk. Yes it does have Patrick Stewart and Mr. Maclachan, but these actors cannot save this version of one of Verne's novels which has troubles of its own--how do these people know of Nemo when "20,000 Leagues" began after the civil war?--but is still a good, solid book.
Here, however, the thing doesn't work at all. By placing Nemo's appearance at the film's start gives away the plot of the whole story. The pirates are a strange mixture of Chinese junks and pirates dressed from an earlier age--senseless--and they are the most annoying people I have ever seen. As for the taking of the pirate ship, well, where's Errol Flynn when you need him! In short, this film shows all the reasons why Hallmark films stink--bad plotting, so-so acting, and cheap special effects. If anyone visits the grave of Verne, see if this one is making him turn over in the grave! By the way, someone tell the guys at Amazon to check the spelling in the Editorial review--can you see the typos???
Movie Review: No substitute for the original
Summary: 1 Stars
As a kid, I was always a big fan of the Ray Harryhausen effects in movies, and "Mysterious Island" was my favorite. When I saw this remake at the video store, I was really anxious to see an updated version with today's advanced special effects.
I was sorely disappointed. Not only are the visual effects a poor effort in comparison to the 1961 version, but the modified story line is amateurishly written and the acting is as if the cast is all in on the same joke to be deliberately bad. I realized watching this that it's a made-for-TV effort, but still they don't need to make it seem so low budget. I'm really surprised an actor like Patrick Stewart would have taken on this project after reading the script.
I'd highly recommend that you pass on this one and try the original instead. And while you're at it, try some of Harryhausen's other films, such as "First Men in the Moon" (1964) and "Jason and the Argonauts" (1963).
Movie Review: Buy the old one
Summary: 1 Stars
This movie has really bad acting. The direction is very poor. This movie is hard to sit through. The production values are poor. They cannot even show an entire balloon flying through the air. The scale of scenery does not make sense. Seems like a very cheap remake. Just buy the old one. Mysterious Island (1961) (Ws)