Artemis Fowl - Review
When it was announced that Disney had picked up the rights to the Artemis Fowl books, with plans to make the next ‘Harry Potter’ from it, I honestly cringed, but then they hired Kenneth Branagh to direct the first movie and I thought, this might be something. After a few reshuffles then a swap to a new platform for its release, does Disney have the magic touch for this new series, or is it a big myth?
Artemis Fowl tells the story of, well Artemis Fowl Jr, a 12-year-old boy, who is a genius and has spent his young life, learning skills from his father, whilst also taking in the legends of fairies, goblins, dwarves and more. The trailer would have you believe that he is the next, in a long line of criminal masterminds and while smart, he is just a boy, whose father has kept him shielded from that life and for good reason. When Fowl Sr goes on another trip, but then vanishes, the entire web if lies begins to unravel and soon the world learns that the reclusive businessman, is actually a criminal and with a well-timed ransom call, Fowl Jr is brought into the big leagues. Given just a few days to find and trade an unknown object for his fathers freedom, Fowl Jr comes up with a really risky plan, that all depends on them finding a fairy.
While all that is happening in Ireland, down in the realm of the magic creatures, a mysterious object has been stolen and with its power, someone could do terrible things with it. So in order to avoid that, most of the Lower Elements Police have been sent to find it, leaving Recon member Holly Short as the only one around when a troll is sighted in Italy. Having taken care of that, Holly breaks protocol and flies off to Ireland, in order to prove her Fathers innocence for stealing the Aculos, the mysterious object that has everyone else in a tizzy. With her near where Artemis Fowl Jr is looking for a fairy, things quickly escalate from there.
The problems that the movie has with its story are many, first is that the trailers painted a much more truthful adaptation of the book, with Artemis travelling the world in order to achieve his goals, there is none of that in the movie. The trailer also points at an entire subplot that doesn’t exist in the movie and while Artemis and Holly do work together towards the end, there is nothing like the trailer hints at. Because the trailer provides such a different picture, than the one displayed in the final release, I kept expecting things to appear and by the time the troll makes its appearance in the house, most of the movie was gone and I was trying to work out how everything got to that point.
The character of Fowl Jr is also a bit of a wash, they talk about his genius, his skills and such, but apart from being a bit bratty in the opening moments of the movie, he doesn’t showcase any special skills. Yes, he comes up with a plan, which seemingly hits every right step along the way, even though, less than 2 days before his plan is tested, he had no idea that any of his new enemies even existed. While all that is a stretch, the sub-plot of Commander Root and the Aculos feels forced, there are references to a oversight group we never see, a fairy is released from prison, having been thrown in there for treason and everyone just takes him back, but then are shocked when he betrays them, for a shadowy villain. While I can understand the main thread from the books, specifically the first one, there feels like to many sub-elements being introduced, in order to lay down plans for more and it makes the movie feel bloated and given just how thin the rest feels, that is an achievement.
Of course, we must take a moment to talk about the cast, most of the main characters are played by younger actors, with Ferdia Shaw and Lara McDonnell doing solid job as both Fowl Jr and Holly respectively. Josh Gad does a really good job of bringing his thief character to life and as the narrator of the tale as well, keeps things grounded, even when his character digs. Butler, played by Nonso Anozie provides the heart, whilst also adding some muscle to the fray, but for a character that is meant to be tough, he only has a few moments to shine, otherwise is related to exposition provider. Sadly Judi Dench is under used here and her role is basically whittled down to person who growls orders, which is a real shame, as for Colin Farrell, he does a good job of being Fowl Sr, but his character is kidnapped for most of the movie, so his screen time is limited.
What we see on screen though, is something great, there is a nice mix of practical and CGI and when we do get to visit the fairy realm, there is some wonderful designs at play. Everything has a sense of realism, ships look like creatures, but made out of technology, much like we do with planes and such, but then there are unknown magical creatures that wander around, which take it to a realm of fantasy. Most of the creatures could easily be mistaken as human, as the ears, the defining characteristic are hidden away, but for each human looking, you get characters like Foaly, who is a centaur, or a host of goblins. Up on the human side of things, there are remains of creatures and antiquities of their realm, that help make things a little more grounded, you know, as evidence, but for the most part, the action takes place in a large manor style house, which looks pretty normal.
The visual effects are solid across the board, though there are a few that stand out as fake, the troll being one of them and for such a key piece of the film, I would have liked to have see it be given more attention. The other effect that stood out as weird was the time field, a giant dome that when it collapses, looks like a bubble wand moving through the air, if it was meant to be that, then it looked fine, if it was meant to be something else, well ok. The costumes for the humans are fine, mostly only regular clothes or suits, the fairies though have some cool uniforms, with some incredible details on them, helping to indicate rank and such, even the big bad is done really well, with a nice veil over their face.
The score was the one area that I had dread going in on, because Patrick Doyle, while a solid composer, did not do a lot of innovation between the two Harry Potter movies he scored, thankfully, this time around, he knocked it out of the park. While the score in the human world is just as you might expect for a film set in Ireland, in the realm of magic, things take a more mystical approach and while there are still touches of Irish blended in, there is no singular element that calls out as truly unique, which I liked. Even watching the end credits, something that can be boring, was easy to enjoy as the music that played over it, was nice and fine.
Artemis Fowl is a movie that, as it is on Disney+ is easy to suggest you watch, just don’t expect a whole lot as the movie moves so fast, it is at the climatic ending, before you know it. Characters are fine, but we are expected to buy into some of them, based on descriptions, but we don’t really see a whole lot to prove it. While there are plenty of hints at more to come, I don’t think this will be the start of a new series, not unless it stays on Disney+ and pivots to a tv show.
The Score
6.0
Early viewing provided by Disney
The Pros
+There is a lot of potential for growth, given how large the world appears
+Josh Gad is perhaps the shinning star, he provides comic relief and dramatic narration, all at once
The Cons
+Almost all of the characters are bland and there is little to connect with
+The story moves so fast, that if you blink, you will miss cruical elements
