Review of MirrorMask (2005) by Ryan B — 23 Oct 2010

Mirrormask is a visually inventive and artistically beautiful film that is an entertaining eye candy film, but the story feels a little rehashed.

Based on a story by Neil Gaiman, author of Good Omens and Coraline, Mirrormask follows Helena, a girl whose parents run an extremely successful circus. Helena, however, dislikes her life and wishes to escape to normal life. Helena is whisked into the world she created with her ink drawings, meeting a man named Valentine. He explains that the order in the ink world has been disrupted, the White Queen has fallen asleep, and the Black princess has gone missing. As the world is slowly being destroyed, Helena and Valentine must save the ink world from being lost forever.

Mirrormask is visually spectacular, with clever designs, however the CGI feels a little dated. I'm not sure if that was the intention of the film makers, but I don't think the poor CGI creatures help the story. The story feels a little over done, and it's not a thinking film, meaning that it doesn't take too long to figure out the riddle in the movie. The characters are not all that amazing, but they're still pretty entertaining.

Overall, Mirrormask is a artistic spectacle, but it's a little weak in the story. If you're a fan of Neil Gaiman's work, then you should enjoy Mirrormask, if not, then you should probably look for another movie. (Real rating: 85%).