Based off of Brian Selznick's, New York Times best-seller, "The Invention of Hugo Cabret," Hugo is about an orphan living in the service area's of a 1920s train station in Paris. After the death of his father and being abandoned by his drunken uncle he lives alone in the walls of the station, using his knowledge of clockwork to fulfill the task of his uncle by keeping all of the clocks running. He commits petty theft across various shops located in the station, mostly to keep himself alive. However he frequents a small toy store to retrieve small clockwork parts to repair an automaton (industrial era clockwork robot) that he believes will write a message from his father. He befriends the God-Daughter of the shopkeeper, Isabelle who accompanies Hugo throughout the story. After repairing the automaton the two discover a greater secret that will decide the fate of Hugo and most of the characters in the story.
Overall the story is very well done. Personally I think it was better than the book itself. The superb acting (more on that later) accompanied by the soundtrack really make the story flow a bit better and make it much more interesting. The only flaw is that the back-stories of several characters are spilled out all at once which is interesting, yet leaves the viewer rather unfulfilled. However, considering that the movie is already over 2 hours long, it's justified.
The film is very story driven, trailers seem to make it appear to be a fast paced action movie for children, this is not the case, specifically the children's bit. The themes and messages are a bit deep and will only be understood or entertaining for the older audiences. Despite the original book being geared towards older kids and early teens, it is the older viewers that will probably enjoy the film the most.
Another part that I love about the story is that it seems to mimic the director Martin Scrosese's life, an aging film maker himself. This allows the movie to have that personal attachment to the people who created it which easily carries over into the audience.
I give this a 9/10, certain bits annoy me about the plot but over it's fantastic!
Visuals:
Considering that this movie is meant to be realistic, don't expect anything too flashy, without 3D it appears to be an ordinary movie. However viewing the city of Paris and all of the old movie sets and films is quite enjoyable and very well done. With the 3D it is truly magical. The 3D is mostly used to add depth perception that really comes into play in the later parts of the movie, specifically when the films begin to illustrates 1920s movies and film sets. The style of the 3D isn't so much as popping out (there are a plenty instances however though none very obvious) but more along the lines of looking in, sort of how the 3DS works but not nearly as exaggerated.
Overall visuals get a 9/10 as 3D really enhances the movie but if you don't watch it without 3D it's pretty good but nothing eye opening.
Characters
The characters in this movie are simply amazing, probably the best I've seen in a movie this year. They are all so vivid, believable and three dimensional. First of all, the way characters are introduced is perfect, they appear and disappear from scenes whenever appropriate. No random jumping out or you wondering "where the hell did he come from?" Secondly the Characters themselves are fantastic, villains aren't as evil as they may appear and the good guys are fun to watch. Not too much to say here, 10/10.
Acting
The acting is phenomenal, first we have a stellar cast containing Ben Kingsley as Papa Georges (best known for his performances in Ghandi, Sexy Beast, and Schindler's List) Chloe Moretz as Isabelle (better known as Hitgirl from Kickass) Christopher Lee as Mousier Labisse (or DiZ from KH2) Sacha Baron Cohen as Inspector Gustav, you know him better as Borat though.
Acting is well done, nothing exaggerated or simply stupid. The children are what really stole the show though, specifically Asa Butterfield's performance as Hugo himself. Asa hasn't had any lead rolls in many prominent movies yet though he fit's his character perfectly. He is pretty new to acting but you should definitely keep an eye on him for future rolls as he is definitely going to have a great career if he keeps the good job up. Asa will appear as Ender Wiggen in the 2013 film adaptation of Ender's Game.
Overall I give the acting a 10/10. I saw nothing wrong with it at all.
TLDR:
Hugo is an amazing movie with great visuals, believable characters, intriguing plot and fantastic acting. While it may be geared towards children, the older audience will appreciate the film a bit more, however it is an excellent family film for the holiday's.
Overall the film earns itself a 9.5/10, it was simply an amazing movie that was better than the book it was based off of. You can trust my word at this as I am a critical person that will pull apart every thing I don't like about something, however I loved it! It was definitely my favorite movie of 2011...so far at least, considering that 2 Spielberg films are coming out next month!
Story:
Based off of Brian Selznick's, New York Times best-seller, "The Invention of Hugo Cabret," Hugo is about an orphan living in the service area's of a 1920s train station in Paris. After the death of his father and being abandoned by his drunken uncle he lives alone in the walls of the station, using his knowledge of clockwork to fulfill the task of his uncle by keeping all of the clocks running. He commits petty theft across various shops located in the station, mostly to keep himself alive. However he frequents a small toy store to retrieve small clockwork parts to repair an automaton (industrial era clockwork robot) that he believes will write a message from his father. He befriends the God-Daughter of the shopkeeper, Isabelle who accompanies Hugo throughout the story. After repairing the automaton the two discover a greater secret that will decide the fate of Hugo and most of the characters in the story.
Overall the story is very well done. Personally I think it was better than the book itself. The superb acting (more on that later) accompanied by the soundtrack really make the story flow a bit better and make it much more interesting. The only flaw is that the back-stories of several characters are spilled out all at once which is interesting, yet leaves the viewer rather unfulfilled. However, considering that the movie is already over 2 hours long, it's justified.
The film is very story driven, trailers seem to make it appear to be a fast paced action movie for children, this is not the case, specifically the children's bit. The themes and messages are a bit deep and will only be understood or entertaining for the older audiences. Despite the original book being geared towards older kids and early teens, it is the older viewers that will probably enjoy the film the most.
Another part that I love about the story is that it seems to mimic the director Martin Scrosese's life, an aging film maker himself. This allows the movie to have that personal attachment to the people who created it which easily carries over into the audience.
I give this a 9/10, certain bits annoy me about the plot but over it's fantastic!
Visuals:
Considering that this movie is meant to be realistic, don't expect anything too flashy, without 3D it appears to be an ordinary movie. However viewing the city of Paris and all of the old movie sets and films is quite enjoyable and very well done. With the 3D it is truly magical. The 3D is mostly used to add depth perception that really comes into play in the later parts of the movie, specifically when the films begin to illustrates 1920s movies and film sets. The style of the 3D isn't so much as popping out (there are a plenty instances however though none very obvious) but more along the lines of looking in, sort of how the 3DS works but not nearly as exaggerated.
Overall visuals get a 9/10 as 3D really enhances the movie but if you don't watch it without 3D it's pretty good but nothing eye opening.
Characters
The characters in this movie are simply amazing, probably the best I've seen in a movie this year. They are all so vivid, believable and three dimensional. First of all, the way characters are introduced is perfect, they appear and disappear from scenes whenever appropriate. No random jumping out or you wondering "where the hell did he come from?" Secondly the Characters themselves are fantastic, villains aren't as evil as they may appear and the good guys are fun to watch. Not too much to say here, 10/10.
Acting
The acting is phenomenal, first we have a stellar cast containing Ben Kingsley as Papa Georges (best known for his performances in Ghandi, Sexy Beast, and Schindler's List) Chloe Moretz as Isabelle (better known as Hitgirl from Kickass) Christopher Lee as Mousier Labisse (or DiZ from KH2) Sacha Baron Cohen as Inspector Gustav, you know him better as Borat though.
Acting is well done, nothing exaggerated or simply stupid. The children are what really stole the show though, specifically Asa Butterfield's performance as Hugo himself. Asa hasn't had any lead rolls in many prominent movies yet though he fit's his character perfectly. He is pretty new to acting but you should definitely keep an eye on him for future rolls as he is definitely going to have a great career if he keeps the good job up. Asa will appear as Ender Wiggen in the 2013 film adaptation of Ender's Game.
Overall I give the acting a 10/10. I saw nothing wrong with it at all.
TLDR:
Hugo is an amazing movie with great visuals, believable characters, intriguing plot and fantastic acting. While it may be geared towards children, the older audience will appreciate the film a bit more, however it is an excellent family film for the holiday's.
Overall the film earns itself a 9.5/10, it was simply an amazing movie that was better than the book it was based off of. You can trust my word at this as I am a critical person that will pull apart every thing I don't like about something, however I loved it! It was definitely my favorite movie of 2011...so far at least, considering that 2 Spielberg films are coming out next month!