wolfbeast

As far as low budget monster movies goes, this is right on-par with what you'd expect: mediocre acting, a loosely-constructed fantasy story, and CGI that is obviously not polished or in any way professional looking for the year it was made in. Could have done a lot better than that! It's good for what it is in its budget/class, but on the overall scale of "worst to best movies I've ever seen" it definitely doesn't score more than a 4 out of 10. Maybe it's because I've never been one for the mid-20th century type of movie making this resembles; I guess the director's age really shows ;) The biggest minus points in this movie are most definitely the effects, and a story that is simply not believable enough to keep my interest. It lacks suspense, it lacks reason; the choice of background story for the gargoyles is shallow and poorly-researched, as well. The movie has a surprisingly slow pace and is predictable after the opening scene that is obviously there to catch people's attention more than actually providing a good setting for the rest of the movie.

OK, I understand that for die-hard Johnny Depp fans, this is probably something they have looked forward to and can enjoy. While I enjoy the actor's performance in general, the movie as a whole is very, very disappointing.

It's a little hard to give a proper review on a movie that has, well, no real direction to the very sequential (I wouldn't call it "linear" because it's got too much randomness for it) events occurring in it. If not true to its title, it seems like whoever wrote the script or the book it was based on in a drunken stupor, going from one "adventure" into the next and shambling and swaying through it. There is no real binding plot, no "larger picture" that is interesting enough to be captivating, and it seems tied together with a far-fetched, almost haphazard thread to try and give it some semblance of coherence.

As said, the main actor's performance is enjoyable, which is a plus, but otherwise I wouldn't recommend it. A giggle or two, maybe, and suitable for in-flight entertainment or afternoon TV, yes, but not for much if anything else.

I was surprised to see an overall score rating on IMDb as low as this movie gets. This movie is entertaining, has good humor, even has sound logic "in the universe it's set in", what more could you want? Giving scores of 1 out of 10 means you found it absolutely unwatchable, and in my opinion this movie would certainly not count for that.

Acting is good, although on rare occasions feels a little forced - the only main reason it's not getting full marks from me. Effects are up to standard, there is a story to it that is well-executed and it's entertaining and keeping your attention. It also provides nice hints and jabs to previous blockbuster movies that feel natural and are honestly acted out - kudos for that! Just because a flic is a comedy doesn't mean it's necessarily a kids movie; and this movie underlines that once more: there are a lot of adult jokes and insinuations, that kids wouldn't get at all.

More can't really be said without getting into spoiling the movie - so I'll just leave this review with the recommendation: watch it if you like comedy with a good dose of sci-fi!