Review of Hugo (2011) by Jollyg87 — 15 Dec 2011
On a technical scale, "Hugo" is a masterwork. Scorsese majestically helms this adventure delivering superb 3-D cinematography and a steady pace. Out of all of Scorsese's films, this is definitely one of his most personal.
While delivering an engaging story, he uses the movie to celebrate his love of films, in particular, the ones that got the art of film off the ground. It's during these moments when the movie radiates a sense of magic.
But these are the only magical moments. When the movie doesn't focus on film, it's only an interesting story, nothing more. The main issue is that few of the characters are satisfyingly developed. Kingsley's Georges Melies is the one exception.
His back story is far more intriguing than Hugo's, and with only a limited amount of screen time, Kingsley gives us a complete heartbreaking portrait of a sorrowful genius. But the film focuses on Hugo, and his story and character is nowhere near as fascinating.
This prevents the movie from taking off into greatness. Once Scorsese's love of film shines, the movie starts to soar, but this doesn't happen until the last 20 minutes. Still, it's a very good film that should be seen by anyone who's a fan of Scorsese or a fan of cinema in general.
I wouldn't recommend it to younger kids however. The movie moves too slow for them, and they'll most likely leave the theater confused and bored.
This review of Hugo (2011) was written by Jollyg87 on 15 Dec 2011.
Hugo has generally received very positive reviews.
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