Review: "Mirror Mirror"

The first of two big studio take on the classic Snow White tale, Mirror Mirror was always quite upfront about its status as the lighter film. Clearly made with younger audiences in mind, visual genius Tarsem Singh's film is a mixed bag overall, despite some truly wondrous costume and set design. That doesn't stop it from being enjoyable in bits and pieces, but outside of the production values, there's not enough here to justify the journey, at least not at full theater prices.

Yet even though the film is truly Snow White's (Lily Collins and her magnificent eyebrows) story, the film pays just as much attention to its evil queen, played by Julia Roberts. The particulars of the story aren't really worth bothering with, but we'll get to that later. What's worth discussing is how, like John Carter, some decent acting and strong production values are sunk by a wildly flawed script. Singh's films have never been loved for their writing, but the difference between his art house fantasies The Cell and The Fall and something like Mirror Mirror is instantly noticeable. This film feels a little stiff, and watered down by big studio meddling. Had this project landed in different hands (at least at the studio level), we could have had a film that was both a sincere fairy and a razor sharp satire of the genre. Roberts has a few lines that come close to capturing this, but they come few and far between. She and Armie Hammer are obviously having fun in their roles (and Roberts' signature laugh is put to grand effect in one scene), but as is often the case with projects like this, they're left with material that's far beneath their efforts.

Less compelling is Collins, though some of this may be due to the script's weak attempts to make her more than a damsel in distress. Yes, she wields a sword and manages to outdo a man in a duel, but the girl-power elements of the character often come off as forced and feel hollow as a result. The story as a whole also runs into problems, particularly in the conclusion, where it throws out a lame monster, an all-too-neat resolution, and a lazy and rushed attempt to integrate the iconic poisoned apple. Throw in an insect on insect rape joke, and you begin to get a better picture of the script and its transition to the screen.

Worth more attention are the production values which, unlike Tarsem's last film, Greek mythology cluster fuck Immortals, actually make an impression. The castle interiors, where much of the film takes place, are a wonder to behold, a mix between a fairy tale castle and an opulent Russian palace. Even more impressive are the late Eiko Ishioka's marvelous costumes, which often have such a wide array of colors and styles that they sometimes distract from the film's weaknesses. Ishioka was a true visionary when it came to her craft, and while watching Mirror Mirror, I couldn't help but be sad during parts of the film because I knew it was the last time we'd see any original designs from her. Worse, thinking about Ishioka's passing got a stronger emotional reaction out of me than anything Mirror Mirror actually had to offer.

Grade: C+

Third time's the charm: "Immortals" trailer #3

It certainly took them long enough, but the marketing team for Tarsem Singh's Immortals has finally created a halfway decent trailer for the upcoming mythology epic. Many of the scenes and shots have been shown before, but there are just a few flashes of new footage that show the detail of Tarsem's vision. The massive CGI landscapes may be uninspiring, but the smaller sets and costume design are actually starting to pop out from all of the gold and brown flooded images. If I have to make one complaint, though, it's the accents. I know that the 'use British accents for everything foreign that isn't continental European' rule has been around for a long time, but having the ancient Greeks sounding like good old English lads is going to be a distraction. Granted, I doubt this will come close to topping the unbearable awkwardness of the British, Irish, and Russian (Transylvanian?) accents that pervaded Oliver Stone's Alexander (2004), but it's still something that could prove a distraction.

Trailer #2: "Immortals"

After a disappointing first trailer, Legendary Pictures has released a second full look at their upcoming stylized Greek mythology epic Immortals. Unfortunately, little has improved. To be fair, the scenes here do seem to have more visual variety, and that one bit of slow-down-speed-up action was admittedly well done. But my problem comes down to one simple factor: the color scheme. As I said after the first trailer, director Tarsem is at the very least a genius of visual design, and his imagination always includes a wide array of colors. Here, almost everything is trying to adhere to the 300 look: shades of beige, brown, and gold. The effect actually robs the film of any visual wow-factor. That Sistine Chapel-esque fight scene would look so much better if the color scheme actually made room for brighter colors, instead of smothering everything in the glow of the above-mentioned trio. Gold is a powerful, magnificent color, yet here it feels overused to the point of being mundane. Even other colors, like red, somehow seem to lack their usual fire. I'm not even going to touch on the acting, which seems either competent or bombastic. Unless the film turns out to be a surprisingly decent action/adventure flick, the most I can hope for is that it gives Tarsem some clout in Hollywood, allowing him to pursue more projects in the vein of The Fall.

Trailer for Tarsem Singh's "Immortals" (or should we just call it '300 Pt. 2'?)

Director Tarsem Singh is no stranger to making stunningly beautiful films on a small budget. Hell, he financed The Fall entirely on his own dime. So surely, if given a $100 million budget and a Greek mythology epic, he'd go all out, free to make his vision with infinitely more freedom, yes? Actually, the opposite appears to be true, and I'm not sure if blame should fall on Singh, or the film's producers.

It should be noted that the producers also worked on Zack Snyder's 300, which might be part of the problem. Immortals has been generating buzz for its scale and imagery ever since it debuted a trailer at WonderCon a few weeks ago. And, despite all of Tarsem's visual talents, there's something off here; not a single image or sequence left an impression. It all feels too busy, and yes, too much like a 300 rip-off, only on a bigger scale (with some Clash of the Titans thrown in). Say what you will about 300, I know plenty despise it, but when that trailer first hit, I was captivated by its style and imagery. The same goes for Singh's The Fall, easily one of the most beautiful films of the past 20 years. Unfortunately, the mix of the two that is Immortals feels visually limp by comparison. Save for a few flashes of red, the color pallette is nothing but shades of gold and brown. Take a minute to compare that to The Fall, and you'll see why Tarsem's latest feels so underwhelming: