Posted By Dennis Willis on Dec 22, 2010 |
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GULLIVER’S TRAVELS
(12/22/10; Comedy, Fantasy)
Jack Black, Emily Blunt, Jason Segel, Amanda Peet, Billy Connolly, Catherine Tate, Chris O’Dowd
SCR: Joe Stillman, Nicholas Stoller
DIR: Rob Letterman
MPAA: PG for brief rude humor, mild language and action.
1 hour 25 mins
BOX: $42,607,452 (US),
$169,800,691 (Oveseas)
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God-awful opus uses the title of Swift’s classic novel and its most famous section (Gulliver’s adventures in the miniature land of Lilliput) as an excuse for scene after scene of bad special effects and pop culture references.
Without sounding like a purist, I would assume that a $100 million movie called Gulliver’s Travels might have a little more going on than Prince and Star Wars references. I doubt Jonathan Swift was thinking of monster-sized robots when he wrote the tale in the 18th century.
There’s no point setting up the story. Needless to say, it’s barest of constructs to get Black’s Gulliver (a clerk in the mail room) onto a boat so he can wash up on Lilliput. It’s not long before he introduces the Lilliputians to rock and roll and fist bumping, but not before putting out a large fire by peeing on it.
(20th Century Fox)
Author: Dennis Willis
Dennis Willis is an award-winning producer, TV host, producer, director, editor (he preferred Avid until a torrid affair with Adobe Premiere, and the rest is history), author and film critic (print and radio). Dennis produced and hosted the TV programs Reel Life, FilmTrip, Soundwaves (1983-2008) and produces the annual Soundwaves Xmas program. He is currently the film critic on KGO Radio in San Francisco, and a member of both the San Francisco Film Critics Circle and the Broadcast Film Critics Association.
