One word: Meh.

moneenerd

I was at blockbuster Video for no longer than 5 minutes when i came across the beautiful cover art for MIRRORMASK on the New Releases shelf. At closer inspection, I read 2 important names: Neil Gaiman (of "Sandman" comics fame) and the late Jim Henson. So, needless to say, I quickly grabbed it and checked out as fast as I came in. With these 2 big names displayed on MIRRORMASKs casing, I was sure to be blessed with a magical story, full of bizarre concepts, dark yet beautiful imagery, and some very interesting characters and possibly even some of that puppetry that Hensons company is so well known for.

Instead I was subjected to a meaningless mess of poor CGI, boring lead characters, and a plot and storyline weve all seen before. Come to find out, its just another fairytale about a spoiled brat, 15 year old girl who gets lost in this world that is basically made up of her own wild imagination (much like Hensons LABYRYNTH, but instead of her head being in the books, our character is lost in a world inhabited by her drawings).

This movie brings nothing new to the genre, and seems just like one big stew of every Henson flick ever made, minus the mesmerizing puppetry, and then ontop of it, looks like a big gross load of Neil Gaimans pretentious-gothy-art spunk splattered all over it, so much so, that the focus on the story 9which is not that interesting anyway) is lost in the overwhelming mind f*ck that are the special effects.

I was really psyched to watch this film, and maybe I just talked it up in my head so much that I disappointed myself. But no matter what the case, this award-winning fairy tale is, again, nothing new. It tries so hard to stimulate the eye that it comes off most pretentious. There are some parts here and there that do work, but they are too far and few between, and are almost stolen right out of the other great fantasy films (look for the scene where our lead character Helena is brainwashed, dressed and made up in black by the dark queens minions, almost exactly like the scene in LEGEND).

Snore factor is way too high on this film. Sure its probably a kids flick, but so was LABYRYNTH and DARK CRYSTAL, and MIRRORMASK will never compare to those timeless and ageless classics.

5 out of 10.

score 5/10

moneenerd 17 February 2006

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1294110/