Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were comedic geniuses, individually and together, and their partnership was deservedly iconic and one of the best there was. They left behind a large body of work, a vast majority of it being entertaining to classic comedy, at their best they were hilarious and their best efforts were great examples of how to do comedy without being juvenile or distasteful.
After a string of short films that saw the duo in the right direction, where there was more than before of the partnership (though not yet fully formed) and Hardy had more to do and became funnier and more interesting than in his earlier work, 'Flying Elephants' is very watchable but a bit disappointing. Not a misfire ('25 Minutes from Hollywood' was the misfire really for me of the previous outings) and not quite a step backwards, but not really a sign of things moving forward.
Laurel is great fun with great comic timing and Hardy also scores highly. There are a fair few amusing moments, it moves efficiently and there is a nice enough charm. The rest of the cast are solid, and the whole cast blend with the stone age setting very well.
'Flying Elephants' doesn't look too bad, do quite like the broadly rendered setting. The inter-titles dialogue is anachronistic but appealingly so.
On the other hand, the story is non-existent and there are instances of over-stretching. There is a lack of refinement in the storytelling, where it's a bit disorganised, and the effects are charming enough but also on the creaky side.
Also found for my liking that things do get a bit too silly and over the top, even for the broad setting. While Laurel and Hardy perform very well individually, they spend too much time apart and there is nowhere near enough of them together.
Concluding, nice and amusing but not near one of the best representations of the legendary duo. 6/10 Bethany Cox
