Frankly I don't understand all the enthusiasm!?
Plot? There is no real plot. OK fine there is one, a very classical arrogant successful guy hits a rock, sinks low, and then discovers generosity and helping others which makes him a better person. Yawn. OK, not yawn per se, but yawn in this film.
Acting? - Robin Williams is Robin Williams in a one man show, or close to one; he does his usual part when someone lets him, i.e. if you remove his costume in your imagination you find that you could be in pretty much any other made for Robin Williams (Patch Adams, Mrs Doubtfire, Jumanji, etc.) He overacts so much and so constantly that it kills much of the movie that isn't Robin Williams - Jeff Bridges does his usual slow-moving, quiet, I'm not really sure I understand what is going on here thing. A bit like in K-Pax in many ways. He is at his best when he plays that he's drunk. - Amanda Plummer looks exactly like, hey I am a young actress and I worked hard and watched a lot of people with some mental and behavioural issues and look at how well I can portray such a person, only no, at no time is she even remotely credible. Someone go watch Jodie Foster in Nell, or Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man. - Mercedes Ruehl shines among this crowd. She is the only truly credible character, she acts, she has presence, it works. And what helps is that she has a "nice guy" part where she is kind, lovable, generous, you name it. Her award was well deserved.
Filming / editing / pace? - something just doesn't work. Some bits are terribly terribly slow and without much if any content, but yet not achieving any particular depth that would justify this slow pace. Some bits are full of agitation and screaming but not sure why. Oh and there is the Red Knight which isn't really that useful and seems lifted directly from Baron Munchausen (where Robin Wiliams had a part btw).
Bottom-line? Not a good arrogance meets punishment meets redemption movie. Average to downright terrible acting (or at any rate, overly dominant and very monotonous). Issues with pace. Terry Gilliam has made several films that I really like - but this one just doesn't work for me, sorry. And I really, really don't understand all the super-positive reviews, I just don't. Is no one going to scream, "hey the king is naked!" ?
Plot? There is no real plot. OK fine there is one, a very classical arrogant successful guy hits a rock, sinks low, and then discovers generosity and helping others which makes him a better person. Yawn. OK, not yawn per se, but yawn in this film.
Acting? - Robin Williams is Robin Williams in a one man show, or close to one; he does his usual part when someone lets him, i.e. if you remove his costume in your imagination you find that you could be in pretty much any other made for Robin Williams (Patch Adams, Mrs Doubtfire, Jumanji, etc.) He overacts so much and so constantly that it kills much of the movie that isn't Robin Williams - Jeff Bridges does his usual slow-moving, quiet, I'm not really sure I understand what is going on here thing. A bit like in K-Pax in many ways. He is at his best when he plays that he's drunk. - Amanda Plummer looks exactly like, hey I am a young actress and I worked hard and watched a lot of people with some mental and behavioural issues and look at how well I can portray such a person, only no, at no time is she even remotely credible. Someone go watch Jodie Foster in Nell, or Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man. - Mercedes Ruehl shines among this crowd. She is the only truly credible character, she acts, she has presence, it works. And what helps is that she has a "nice guy" part where she is kind, lovable, generous, you name it. Her award was well deserved.
Filming / editing / pace? - something just doesn't work. Some bits are terribly terribly slow and without much if any content, but yet not achieving any particular depth that would justify this slow pace. Some bits are full of agitation and screaming but not sure why. Oh and there is the Red Knight which isn't really that useful and seems lifted directly from Baron Munchausen (where Robin Wiliams had a part btw).
Bottom-line? Not a good arrogance meets punishment meets redemption movie. Average to downright terrible acting (or at any rate, overly dominant and very monotonous). Issues with pace. Terry Gilliam has made several films that I really like - but this one just doesn't work for me, sorry. And I really, really don't understand all the super-positive reviews, I just don't. Is no one going to scream, "hey the king is naked!" ?