Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase

Young teens, that is. I wonder if young people read anymore, and if the ones that do ever read Nancy Drew books. Hard to tell if this movie will appeal to a large teen audience after "Captain Marvel" and numerous Batman films, but the story is good enough to hold the attention of kids who are not waiting for something to blow up.

Nutshell; Nancy is drawn into a mystery of a haunted house, owned by Linda Lavin. Aided by her 2 friends and a 'mean girl' they solve the problem, with a few object lessons about mean friends along the way. If you are over 21 the script is hard to endure but sufficient to hold the interest of a young audience. Nancy Drew as played by Sophia Lillis is adorable and appealing. I would recommend it to teens who are tired of superheroes, but with a caveat - it's not Fortnite.

7/10 - The website no longer prints my star rating.

I've watched this version and the one with the same title from the thirties back to back. Originally it was in the service of my history of mysteries, but neither qualify. Only this one is worthy of comment, because of the apparent excellence of the demographic engineering.

So many films suppress the cinematic and narrative experiments in the service of cultural capture. For a student of film it is a trade off because in ordinary film, where the qualities of film are exploited and sometimes extended, we are happy to accept stereotypes, tropes and genre conformity. But when the project is about seduction of identity, the stereotypes are up for experimentation. All else in the media is in support.

It isn't just the marvellous creation of this Nancy. I predict this actress will have a rich and much admired career. I thought the same of and early Heath Ledger when I saw him in a King Arthur project with similar goals and values. She not just shines, she understands emotional manipulation.

She's what you are supposed to look at. She's what you are supposed to see, but the heavy engineering has been done around her, in place and gang. Sure, this is Scooby mixed with the old mean girl redemption story. But look closer at how the camera stages groups. Look at the apparently different sets of the same hidden passage.

There's craft in this that deserves to be understood. Disney used to have a stable of experts that knew how to do this before the TeeVee production ethic killed it. Maybe we'll get it back. Because in film, I appreciate experimentation and evolution in any dimension.

I didn't expect much from this movie going in, in that sense this movie didn't disappoint at all. If u would like to speak about flaws and weaknesses, I promise you there is a ton of them. But if you are planning to watch this movie after seeing trailer and expecting to be perfect, then you should blame yourself. Having mentioned much about the notions, lets analyse the movie strengths. Sophia lillis as Nancy drew is vibrant and funny. She is very good at keeping the mood light even in the tense scenes. There is an innocence in her acting. Laura wiggins plays the pretty friend as usual. Andrea anders, sam trammel doesn't have much screen space but they have supporting roles to sophia. Even though you pretty much know how its gonna pan out, this movie keeps you invested. Grab a popcorn and drink and if you plan to light hearted teen movie this movie won't make you regret it.

As a lifelong Nancy Drew-book and games-lover I was really looking forward to this. Was I disappointed? Yes. But this movie wasn't made for me - it was made for the younger generations, and for them I think it's a welcoming first few steps into the Nancy Dew culture. Is it perfect? No. Is it supposed to be? Also no! This is a cute, and fun young persons movie with mystery,friendship and personal growth at it's core, and in that way it IS perfect - that embodies the Nancy Drew spirit perfectly. A 7 from this old nostalgic, but as a first glance into ND-fandom it's a 10. The actresses and actors are great, and believable, and it feels very Nancy Drew, even in this new wrapping. Well done, all around!

I have never experienced a film speeding as fast as this, its 80 minutes were gone like the wind. so that maybe a good quality sign, that the grumpy old man had a time warp while watching nancy drew. its an modernized , not to overexhaggerated detective story, that are for all ages, i myself read some of the N.D. books to impress my childhood girlfriend, though i prefered the Hardy boys better.

the film are well made, and bears the message without vfx and cgi, the language are plain, and the plot iand story are really working. the actors does a fine job, they even have vocal pureness so even the tinnitusated grumpy old man didnt need any subtitles. the sets and design are very colourfilled, and the use of modern technology are moderatly and clever used. imagine miss marple of agatha christie with a laptop and smartphone, that would raised MY eyebrow, so the modern nancy drew does still have the authentic sting.

i will recommend this to you all, but dont expect the unexpected, and let nancy guide you through the hidden staircase with pride.