← Back to Reviews
in
This was my second watch as I first saw it around three years ago. I had never been interested in it, due to my struggle with fantasy, but considered it a must see due to all of it's praise. I ended up liking it quite a bit, and a little surprisingly, I loved it this time. Guillermo del Toro is most definitely my go to guy for fantasy as I also thought highly of The Devil's Backbone and absolutely loved The Shape of Water. He's a super talented director who comes up with dark, brutal, adult tales.
Del Toro is as good a director as I've ever seen at taking the viewer to a different time and place. This movie is a wonderful example of that. I felt like I was transported into these other worlds, the fantastical world and 1940's Spain. The result is a certain sense of adventure. It is a gorgeous movie with great attention to detail. This and The Shape of Water are two of the best looking movies I've ever seen.
The different aspects of the story; the fantasy, the Civil War, and the character dynamics weave together beautifully. There are some great characters with my favorites being The Captain, because I hated him so much, and Mercedes, who was just flat out awesome. It's a very violent movie with excellent tension and special effects. It is such a great combination. I feel like this movie falls just short of a major favorite for me, but I'm not sure why. My wife loved The Shape of Water so maybe I should order this on DVD. Maybe then I will indeed call it a favorite.
Pan's Labyrinth
This was my second watch as I first saw it around three years ago. I had never been interested in it, due to my struggle with fantasy, but considered it a must see due to all of it's praise. I ended up liking it quite a bit, and a little surprisingly, I loved it this time. Guillermo del Toro is most definitely my go to guy for fantasy as I also thought highly of The Devil's Backbone and absolutely loved The Shape of Water. He's a super talented director who comes up with dark, brutal, adult tales.
Del Toro is as good a director as I've ever seen at taking the viewer to a different time and place. This movie is a wonderful example of that. I felt like I was transported into these other worlds, the fantastical world and 1940's Spain. The result is a certain sense of adventure. It is a gorgeous movie with great attention to detail. This and The Shape of Water are two of the best looking movies I've ever seen.
The different aspects of the story; the fantasy, the Civil War, and the character dynamics weave together beautifully. There are some great characters with my favorites being The Captain, because I hated him so much, and Mercedes, who was just flat out awesome. It's a very violent movie with excellent tension and special effects. It is such a great combination. I feel like this movie falls just short of a major favorite for me, but I'm not sure why. My wife loved The Shape of Water so maybe I should order this on DVD. Maybe then I will indeed call it a favorite.