Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere
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Movie Reviews of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere
Movie Review: Definetly Gaiman
Summary: 4 Stars
To all those who claim the show looks bad, cheesy, amateurish, with lame special effects, sometimes bad acting, and very-low rate, they are correct.But, that is not the point. The story and characters and plot that only Neil Gaiman could come up with is so far above all that that the series itself can only be called a masterpiece.
True, it would have been nice to have had the series shot on film instead of video (as Gaiman gripes about throughout the commentary) and it would have been nice to have a bigger budget and have not had the BBC taking control over dialogue and what not. But the fact is that the story shines through all of that, and a true fan of not only Gaiman but the genre will realize that.
It was entertaining and just kept you enticed with its depth and left you wanting more everytime an episode ended. The show itself is heavily abridged, cut many times over due to budgeting and time issues. Gaiman is developing a novel though, and as with many great stories, the film version is lacking in complete realization of the story at hand. But in the end, this series has been one of the most enjoyable to watch for me, and I was simply amazed at how great it truly is.
Movie Review: A great book to television mini-series
Summary: 4 Stars
I read the book a few months before buying the dvd set. Just after purchasing the book I ended up renting the dvd set, and then later bought it here on Amazon. If you have not read the story, it's about a man Richard who lives in London above and then ventures into London below, a fantasy realm where he adventures and fights to help a friend Door.
The overall feel of the video is lower budget than a large production house. The acting is at times decent, the sets while interesting do feel small but the interesting story line makes up for the difference. It's similar to watching older Dr. Who where the story is more interesting and you follow it rather than noticing the flaws of the acting. The video quality is not very sharp and could be the same issue of a lower budget production.
Overall, I would recommend this dvd set if you are interested in Neil Gaiman's other works such as Stardust where adventuring in fantasy lands is the norm. It's not a super polished dvd set but still something good to watch when you are looking for something different. I gave 4 stars instead of 5 because of the slight short comings and video quality.
Movie Review: Once it sucks you in...
Summary: 4 Stars
After being a huge fan of Neil Gaiman's work in comics, I bought the VHS release of Neverwhere when it first came out... and to tell you the truth I got a bit disappointed at first. The production is typical of the BBC of those times.. almost like a theater production... but on television. The sets, costumes, acting and camerawork all feel pretty cheap.. but I'm not saying that in a negative way.. it does have it's charms, but at the same time it works a bit repelling for the story and does feel really strange, especially for a Gaiman fan, because it's like seeing a Gaiman comic on-stage-on-screen.. But this is where I get to my point: it IS a Neil Gaiman script and a very good one at that. And like the best of his comics it does suck you in and is very enjoyable... even though the cheap production does make it a bit more difficult than from what you've come to expect from his comics...Movie Review: The Birth of Neverwhere
Summary: 4 Stars
Don't be fooled by those who complain that this BBC series isn't a worthwhile adaptation of the novel. The book that many love so dearly would not exist if not for this series.Mr. Gaiman actually wrote the teleplay for this series FIRST. He then turned it into a novel afterwards. So if you're a purist, perhaps you should truly watch this before you read the book.
As for the DVD: it seems to be mostly shot on video, so it definitely has that Dr. Who feel to it. Book lovers will want to check out the Neil Gaiman interview included with the DVD extras.
Overall, once you accept the fact that there quite obviously wasn't a multi-million dollar budget, and let go of your (unintentional, I'm sure) Hollywood elitist ideals, you'll find yourself carried off into an alternative fantasy world... and you just might have a good time.
Movie Review: Again, the BBC Production Came First
Summary: 4 Stars
Like many others, I had read Neverwhere and other Neil Gaiman Books before I discovered there was a BBC mini-series. I looked it up on Wikipedia, IMDB and Amazon and learned some of the history of the series, which included the fact that the book was based on the mini-series, not the other way around. It's probable that the book is as good as it is because they shot the script on video first (with what little funding they could get - no book to show off yet) and had the opportunity to "see" the vision first. So I watched the mini-series with somewhat realistic expectations, and had a lot of fun doing so. I encourage everyone, whether you have read the book or not, to learn about Neil Gaiman and how the series came about before watching it. And hopefully the upcoming movie will do both the original series, and the book, justice.