Review of The Polar Express (2004) by Michael M — 30 Dec 2017
They should really call this thing the Filler Express. I don't totally blame them, the books extremely short, you can read the whole thing in about 10 minutes, if that. But in that case, this is really the sort of story that would work better as a TV special.
With a runtime of about 25 minutes, this could have worked. For feature length, we get a ton of extra crap like getting lost in the North Pole or action sequences that while breathtaking betray the spirit of the story.
Worst of all, these scenes go nowhere and add nothing. They're just detours before going back to the actual story. When it's in the actual story, it's actually pretty good, even whimsical and heartwarming.
While I hate the pointlessness of mo-cap movies (I'm so glad this trend bombed) I will admit that some of these visuals are actually quite stunning. There's even a couple character moments that I kind of like, and while I hate how they threw Tom Hanks in 5 roles just because they could I will admit that these roles individually are good.
It's a real mixed bag, and I hate that it destroys the books whimsy for visual action scenes. Truth be told though it's a movie I don't mind having on, but mostly as background noise for wrapping presents.
For something that takes total focus, doesn't really work.
This review of The Polar Express (2004) was written by Michael M on 30 December 2017.
The Polar Express has generally received positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
