Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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39 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Little Relation to the Book--A Challenge to Watch, August 14, 2006
As a fan of Verne's, The Mysterious Island, I had high hopes for the movie. The movie, however, was a serious disappointment. The movie was a sub-B grade level -- remember those awful Sunday Afternnon matinee movies on TV? except for the film quality (not grainy), this is worse.
I wish I could say good things about the movie; but in starting, each leads to serious negatives.
1) The movie has little relationship to the book. The characters are distorted (Neb, the black, is horribly annoying with a modern 'tude that is pathetic), characters are added (there are no women in the book), and there are few fantastic creatures (a la Jurrasic Park or the older giant B-movie creature movies of the 60's). This movie may be an amusing test for high school teachers who assign Mysteruious Island and get book reports from this movie instead.
2) Verne's book builds the characters, relationships, problem solving, and plot. The book has suspense and excellent character development. The movie destroys this with almost cartoonish characters. The most annoying are the Neb character in the movie (in the book, Neb is an excellent character). The Neb character in the movie looks and acts like a gangsta rapper. The attitude and annoying dismissal of the time period context go beyond annoying and reach revisionist proportions. Frankly, I found his character offensive and racist. Neb's foil in the movie, Pencroft, again, a well developed character in the book, is portrayed as a southerner, thief, and buffoon. Pencroft is always guaranteed to trip, stumble, or blunder while Neb deftly and lightly perseveres. Apparently, this buffonish characterization is OK since he was a southerner after all. The rest of the characters are hollow. Stewart does an interesting portrayal of Nemo. The other characters are boring. The female characters are superfluous and annoying -- not to mention, portrayed as weak.
3) The giant creatures are comical and are not in the book. Verne uses literary skill to build suspense -- not giant insects as grafted-on artificial suspense. Even more laughable is the character reactions to the attacks by the giant animals (and why was the rat smaller than the praying mantis?). The actors seem like wooden actors reciting lines. My favorite was the young girl commenting after an attack, "I am thirsty," in a tone sounding like a spoiled child.
4) The Nemo character ruins the suspense. In the book, the Nemo character is not revealed until the end (at least openly). This is part of the "mysterious" in Mysterious Island. In the movie, the Nemo character becomes a central and fantastic theme. His sidekick is not convincing and becomes an almost omniscient character vying with Nemo. He is likewise annoying. The Nemo related sets needlessly copy other films -- e.g., the electric fence of Jurrasic Park and the submarine of Disney. Revealing this character too soon undermines the most interesting aspects of the book and sets up a whole new story.
In general, if you like Verne, this movie will disappoint. If you like good acting, this movie will disappoint. If you like a plot, this movie will disappoint. If you like amateurish B-movies with giant rendered animals; a weak, implausible story; and gangsta' rappers travelling back in time; you may tolerate this movie.
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21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful if you like Kyle, Patrick or Big Bugs, March 20, 2006
I very much enjoyed this film due primarily to the appearances of Kyle Maclachlan and Patrick Stewart. Most of the main actors were very good in this. The photography was beautiful, especially the long shots of the island, and the balloon shots at the beginning. The bugs and other CGI effects were a bit chintzy. The DVD has a little bit more on it than was seen on Hallmark Channel. On TV it was presented as a single 3-hour event including commercials. Without even a thorough viewing of the DVD, I was able to spot additional sequences, many of them being additional beautiful photography. Of course, additional beginning and end credits for the 2-part miniseries lengthens it somewhat, but clearly there must be at least 20 minutes additional footage here. Plus the interviews and featurette on the set were very interesting. While some of the pirate ship antics were predictable and not well-acted, people who enjoy this sort of thing will like this film. I'm not crazy about the big bugs in general, so I skim through them to get onto the dialogue of the real people. Enjoy.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Whole New Treatment, January 16, 2007
Escapees from a Civil War prison camp have their balloon blown to the Pacific where they find refuge on an island. But it is a dangerous island where giant animals run free and man is on the dinner list. But safely hidden away is a recluse and his manservant. The recluse is Captain Nemo. He offers aid to the refugees if they help him with his work. Nemo is creating a bomb that can destroy an entire city. The idea being that when men see how destructive war can be they will stop practicing war altogether because the consequences are to high. Needles to say the refugees refuse to help and they are sent out into the dangerous jungle.
But once in the jungle there are other dangers waiting. A legendary pirate treasure lures deadly pirates to the island. Nemo does not like the pirates but he refuses to help though the manservant does not agree. Finally the forces of good unite to repel the pirates and things pretty much work out.
This is not true to the book or even other film versions and many reviewers will point it out and complain that the story should be true to the original. Of course the original was a sequel to 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA and it was not true to that so even Verne is at fault. But there are worse things wrong that not being true to the book. The balloon is blown over 6,000 miles against the trade winds. The characters survive with a single canteen and no food (that must have been a super-fast balloon). Arial shots show the volcano on the back side of the island but it is usually down the beach in ground shots. It is said the island is uncharted by any man. I am sure Nemo knows where it is. Plus, the pirates have no problems finding it and other survivors have brought out tales of monsters. The end has a moment that implies the survivors will not survive past the credits 9unintentional I am sure but there just the same). The thing in the cave has tentacles according to the shadows but turns out to be spiders later on. Nemo gets stuck for no reason. No mention of the seaworthiness of his vessel is ever made so one has to wonder why he doesn't just drive it away (ho obviously plans to leave and use his weapon). There are too many monsters to be supported on the island. Many of them pass through vegetation due to bad coordination between the sets and the CGI.
It is a fun story but it could have made more sense by just changing a few lines. There was no need to keep brining in new monsters. Just a couple that kept showing up would have done the same job and seemed less ridiculous. But it is fun and full of action which is probably what was trying to be done. If you want entertainment then this qualifies. If you want true Jules Verne, then this does not. Check it out.
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