Using a popular series of elaborate comic books as his foundation, director Stephen Norrington (
The results are provoking fans of the comic books to voice their disappointment with the way the film alters the comic narrative. Critics, regardless of its faithfulness to the source, are not much impressed. Religious press critics view it as just another noisy, violent, indulgent summer entertainment.
David DiCerto (Catholic News Service) writes, "Despite an intriguing premise and imaginative effects . . . Norrington's comic book-inspired film is the most recent example of Hollywood genuflecting at the altar of excess—justifying megabudgets with tedious, over-the-top action sequences at the expense of a well-crafted story and three-dimensional characters."
Michael Elliott (Movie Parables) reports, "Norrington . . . opts not to explore or exploit these rich and vibrantly described characters. They, for the most part, appear flat and uninspired in
Bob Smithouser (Focus on the Family) says, "What we have here is a bunch of quasi-heroic Victorian literary characters who've been thrust into a very busy, very violent action movie and forced to adopt all the postmodern traits needed for that context. I can't help but wonder what Oscar Wilde, H. Rider Haggard, H.G. Wells, Mark Twain, Bram Stoker, Jules Verne, and Robert Louis Stevenson would think of someone turning their beloved creations into a pulpy excuse to blow stuff up."
Gareth Von Kallenbach (The Phantom Tollbooth) writes, "The film will be different things to different people. It is very easy to note the absurdity of plot, continuity errors, and actors that seem at times to be going through the motions. One can also say it is a silly yet fun romp that is not meant to be taken seriously. Fox is said to be in production of a sequel and that they see
Mainstream critics are hoping this series does not become a franchise.
"This is an unusual movie," says Holly McClure (Crosswalk), "in that it reminded me of the old adventure movies like
She adds: "I wouldn't call this one of Connery's best performances, but I did enjoy seeing him in this kind of role—he just gets better with age!" (So, it's not his best, but he keeps getting better?)