Review of The Book of Life (2014) by Bo L — 03 Jan 2015

Starring: Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana, Channing Tatum, and Kate del Castillo.

Directed By: Jorge R. Gutierrez.

Written By: Jorge R. Gutierrez and Douglas Langdale.

Rated: PG.

Le Muerte (The guardian of the Land of the Remembered) and Xibalba (guardian of the Land of the Forgotten), place a bet on two young boys, Joaquin and Manolo, over which will marry their childhood friend, Maria, to determine who will rule the Lands of the Dead. Years later, both boys live under the shadows of their ancestors and want to have their own successful lives. When Maria returns to their hometown, Manolo is determined to win her heart, but gets tricked into traveling to the Land of the Dead and must discover a way out to become reunited with his love.

I got intrigued by this movie's unique look from the first time I saw the trailer, and with Guillermo del Toro's name attached as an executive producer I decided it was worth my time to check out (even though most of del Toro's produced projects turn out to not be as good as the ones he helms himself). The Book of Life turned out to be a vibrant film that was full of, well...life, but is like a child hyped up on too many sugar skulls and spends the day running around faster than anyone can watch him at a relaxing pace.

Diego Luna does an excellent job in the lead, and Zoe Saldana plays her typical tough female persona that she has mastered over the years. They head up a solid cast with no real problems in it.

However, I do find it a little odd that Channing Tatum was cast since he doesn't have the same hispanic accent as the rest of the cast (and thankfully doesn't try for one). I'm guessing it was an attempt to get some kind of bigger name on the poster. It doesn't overly hurt the movie, it's just odd hearing his voice in the midst of so many characters he doesn't sound much like.

I certainly enjoyed Ron Perlman and Kate del Castillo as the two guardians and film's antagonist. They had some enjoyable banter and had a lot of untapped potential as far as their characters were concerned, but they still manage to do a good amount with the time they had.

My main problem with this movie is it moves so fast. Except for a couple of instances when Manolo sings, it never takes the time to slow down and give the audience a chance to pause and take it all in. The movie's original style is a breath of fresh air from your typical animation films and I would have loved some nice long shots of the beautiful Land of the Remembered or dismal Land of the Forgotten, but we zoom through it all. We move from joke to joke in seconds, barely leaving anytime to laugh. There is some conflict for Manolo, but it's all overcome in seconds so we never get any sense of peril. He passes through each challenge with ease, so why should we worry?

The movie is just under an hour and a half, so it's over quickly, which works great if you have kids with short attention spans or if you really end up hating the movie and long for it to be over.

The main characters are certainly interesting and the visuals are stunning, but we are never given a chance to enjoy either. If the movie had taken the time to slow down and enjoy the life it has then it could have been a lot more enjoyable experiencing.

6 Reels Out of 10.

"Kids these days, with their long hair and not killing stuff.".