Review of Mirror Mirror (2012) by Carlotta 4 — 03 Nov 2012

Like all of Tarsem's films, Mirror, Mirror is visually interesting and quite spectacular at the expense of narrative continuity and flow. He's made improvements in the narrative department, most likely helped by such a simple and familiar story, but this has come at the expense of the spectacle somewhat. The overall direction remains a little clunky, particularly in the battle sequences, where the editing is abysmal. He does still have an eye for colour and composition, and there are some sections that are truly a treat for the eye.

The film has a couple of the best one liners in any film of recent years. Unfortunately, outside of these few brilliant lines, the script is wooden and forced. It comes of as completely ad-libed and not in the spontaneous, energetic way, but in the awkward they can't think of anything to say way. The story often sidetracks and falls apart, but it is a Tarsem film.

The performances are uneven. Julia Roberts cannot keep the British accent going and isn't quite nasty enough. Nathan Lane is amusing, but nothing special. Armie Hammer and Lily Collins both give uneven performances. The camera loves them both and both have moments of brilliance, mostly when together. The two play off each other nicely, but along they often seem at a loss, although the script is helping no one.

For all it's flaw and faults, however, there is something extremely entertaining about Mirror, Mirror. The actors are just likeable enough, and there are just enough moments of brilliance sprinkled throughout the film to offset those eye rolling moments. It helps that it doesn't take itself too seriously either.