Gulliver's Travels

An adaptation of Swift's novel (which was one of my favourites when I was a child) that stars Jack Black and Amanda Peet! Wasn't going to miss this one. I have heard negative things about this movie so my expectations were low. Given that the book leaves plenty of room for imagination, I felt the movie lacked that. Much of it is contrived and there are plenty of plot holes. For example, the writers could have done a lot with the idea that Gulliver was banished to a forbidden land (of giants). Even the culture clash between modern day Gulliver and the Lilliputians felt forced and half-baked. How did these Lilliputians develop technology (that took hundred of years for humans) so rapidly. Was Gulliver, a guy who works at the mail, really that savvy? But anyway, the movie partially compensates its lack of substance and imagination with humour. Jack Black is always dependable when it comes to making the audience laugh. Amanda Peet has a small role but she makes the best of it and has good chemistry with Black. Jason Segel and Emily Blunt are adequate in non-demanding roles. Catherine Tate is wasted. Chris O'Dowd is passable as the traitor villain.

Needless to say, this is far from a great adaptation but thanks to Black, there was enough to laugh at. I suggest to keep expectations low.

It's the holiday season, and everyone around you in a festive mood – or are they?

Well, you may want to count this Scrooge of a reviewer out, because he isn't a firm believer that tis' the season of giving. So when a movie as shamelessly commercial as this comes along, you can bet he is not going to be very kind in his review.

Based on the 18th century novel of the same name, this update sees a slacker mailroom clerk being transported to the land of Lilliput (yes, this is the original name of the mythical land in the novel) after messing up a travel assignment to the Bermuda Triangle. There, the giant (or Beast, as he is affectionately known to the locals), he becomes a hero to the little people, fighting villains and matchmaking a peasant and a princess. When a battle with a petty general goes awry, the roly poly backs out and cowers in fear.

Of course, you know this is only temporary - who would be in the mood for an un-happy ending during the festive season?

The filmmakers have aptly cast Jack Black in the role of Gulliver, given his larger than life personality. This is clearly the comedian's show, seeing how the camera focuses on his every single exaggerated facial expression and body gesture. Black has impressed us with his comedic talents in movies like the surprise hit School of Rock (2003) and the hilarious satire Tropic Thunder (2008). And who can miss his adorable persona in Kung Fu Panda (2008)? In his latest work which he also plays the executive producer role, Black effortlessly pulls of the portrayal of a lovable loser who you cannot bear to dislike.

He is joined by a capable cast including Amanda Peet (2012) who plays his love interest, Jason Segel (I Love You, Man) who plays a Lilliput resident, Emily Blunt (The Wolfman) who plays a Lilliput princess and Billy Connolly (The X Files: I Want to Believe) who plays a Lilliput king. As you have noticed by now, most of the actors play tiny people in this 88 minute movie. They all fare pretty well, but like all holiday movies, this isn't really what the audience is looking out for.

What is in place is the usual numbed down and logic deprived script which will not bother the casual viewer. What's more, since this movie is targeted at the family crowds, there is no need to sophisticate things. Hence, the filmmakers have every reason to throw in mindless pop culture references, ranging from Star Wars' Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker to Titanic's Jack and Rose. Also, you get to see Gulliver inspired posters and billboards which are at most mildly amusing. Unfortunately, these litters of chuckles do not contribute much to the story.

Director Rob Letterman (Monsters vs Aliens) have made use of green screen technology, and in a move that doesn't surprise anyone anymore, 3D technique to bring this tale to the big screen. We are pretty sure that when Jonathan Swift wrote the original novel in 1726, the satire was supposed to bring out certain traits of human nature. After countless adaptations, this message has become a diluted affair with nothing refreshing to offer except a couple of pointless chuckles.

I've seen the version of the story starring Ted Danson, which was quite good. This is nothing like that.

Jack Black's Gulliver starts out in the real world of the present day, with a smart phone. That's all you really need to know about when this took place.

He's not happy with his life in the mail room, and he wants more. A relationship with travel writer Darcy, and more opportunities to do the real work of the New York Tribune.

The Internet makes things easy. When I was in high school and college, there was plagiarism, but it was more challenging because what we know today as the Internet didn't exist. Gulliver has an easy time impressing Darcy and gets sent to the Bermuda Triangle. Oh, so this is how it will work.

And it's actually a pretty exciting scene as Gulliver gets sent into another dimension. Then he has the experience that Danson had, only funnier. This version of the story, pretty much limited to Lilliput, will go for laughs.

And Lilliput is quite a complete nation, but with very small people compared to Gulliver. The castle where the royal family lives is huge. There is a city with lots of people, with varying ethnic backgrounds, and a countryside outside that city. And the Lilliputians have wars against other very small people from other nations.

Only after Gulliver shows his value in fighting a war is he treated with respect. He is a hero. And then things get quite silly. Every movie Gulliver has ever seen becomes a detail of his life, and pop culture references show up in abundance. We later see a giant R2D2 from "Star Wars", combined with "Transformers", used in battle, for example. All because Gulliver's plans for a video game become a fighting robot.

Meanwhile, the prisoner Horatio vies with the nasty Edward for the heart of Princess Mary. Horatio is released only because Gulliver is his friend.

There is one scene where Mary is kidnapped, and I'm not sure whether it is atrocious writing or atrocious acting. No, it's actually brilliant writing and good acting, because most of the acting in this movie is quite good. I mean for the material. It takes real effort to make the acting look really bad.

I am curious about one thing. Of course Gulliver loses cell phone service when he gets close to the Bermuda Triangle. How then is it possible he can receive the voice mails he missed--AFTER he crosses over? And these voice mails are quite important--if you think about it, there's an interesting plot twist coming.

The battle scenes are pretty impressive. I watch several CW super hero shows, and it's a lot like that. Even Horatio gets involved.

There is one cute scene in the world where everyone is big. It only has a little girl, who is quite big compared to Gulliver. Imagine what she would look like to Lilliputians.

And the movie has a big musical number which is quite well done. Again, it seems silly to have the entire cast performing a song Gulliver likes. Also, the music here is quite old compared to, say, a romantic comedy starring teenagers. It comes closer to what I like. Let's say that.

No, it doesn't rank as the most impressive of the productions based on the literary work. No, it is not literary work on its own. But it is enjoyable and somewhat well done. If you're the type of person who can enjoy Jack Black, you will probably like this.

In my lifetime, I've seen a few previous adaptations of "Gulliver's Travels", 1) a series of short cartoons by Hanna-Barbera on the "Banana Splits" TV program, 2) the Max Fleischer animated feature from 1939, and 3) the NBC miniseries starring Ted Danson. And so, I've now seen this new movie starring Jack Black which, unlike the others I've just mentioned, initially takes place in modern day-New York City where the title character is a mail room deliverer who yearns to be a writer for the newspaper he works for but doesn't always put himself out there. Oh, and he also has a crush on the stunning editor (Amanda Peet) whose office he always passes through despite not always having mail for her. Anyway, when he finally bluffs his way through an assignment, Black's Gulliver uses a boat to go to the Bermuda Triangle where he finds himself shipwrecked to an island...Guess where he winds up? Okay, I didn't expect this movie to be faithful to the book at all especially judging from the previews so I wasn't too disappointed on that point. And I did find many scenes-especially those that parodied Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Titantic, and the rock group KISS-pretty funny. And Black, along with supporting players Emily Blunt, Jason Segel, and occasionally Ms. Peet provide their moments. But if this was your first time encountering Lemuel Gulliver, you'd definitely wonder what was so classic about the book he's in (assuming you even knew about it). Actually, I admit I only read about his adventures in Lilliput and Brobdingnag since the book I borrowed from my elementary school library was condensed to only those two adventures though like I said, I did see the Ted Danson miniseries that also had his other travels. So in summary, if you know what to expect from Jack Black, you probably won't be too disappointed. Others, beware...

Gulliver's Travels is fun, a fantasy, not taking itself seriously light comedy. You won't learn anything, you won't cry, you won't witness historic cinema in the making. You will spend an hour and a half watching an enjoyable family film that doesn't pretend to be anything more than a fun adaptation of an age old tale by Jonathan Swift.

I marked the film 7 because I enjoyed watching it, isn't that enough? Must everything be critiqued so much that we lose enchanting family films that just cheer us up momentarily.

Sometimes; Now this might upset the media studies students who seem to be taking over IMDb, sometimes I don't want to have to concentrate on plots and sub plots, sometimes I just want watch a film and escape for a bit, is that OK with you, must everything be Cannes fodder? If you want to have fun and watch a dumb romantic comedy watch Gulliver's Travels, if you're an over serious sneering sceptic... don't. It's that simple.