Spiderwick Chronicles Movie review

Written by Sean McBride

Wednesday, 13 February 2008

Goblins and Fairies and Trolls, Oh my! “The Spiderwick Chronicles” Paramount Pictures Directed by Mark Waters Starring Freddie Highmore, Sarah Bolger, Mary Louise Parker, David Strathairn, Joan Plowright and the voices of Martin Short, Seth Rogan and Nick Nolte. Rated PG   2 ½ Stars         Based on the mini-novels by Tony D. Terlizzi and Holly Black, “The Spiderwick Chronicles” works well-enough as a CGI adventure aimed at the kiddies, but grownups will probably be indifferent to this otherwise average story that features some pretty cool monster effects, but not much else. Freddie Highmore stars in a duel role, playing the twins Jared and Simon Grace, who along with their mother (Mary Louise Parker) and sister Mallory (Sarah Bolger) move into a creepy old country home when their dad moves out to be with his new girlfriend. As if that’s not traumatic enough, they find out that their property is infested—not with average vermin, but with trolls, hobgoblins, fairies and the like. It turns out that Great Uncle Albert (David Strathairn) lived in the house eighty years ago, and he spent his days writing a field guide about the mystical creatures living in the nearby forest. He’s thrilled by his magical discoveries, but peril threatens when the troll, Mulgrath realizes that he can use the knowledge found in the book to take over the world. Uncle Albert quickly hides the book and some dandelion fairies hide Uncle Albert, lest he reveal the hiding place. It’s a standoff that works until Jared moves in, finds the book and then finds his family under attack by an army of goblins and trolls. “The Spiderwick Chronicles” succeeds whenever the creatures take over the screen, but the human cast doesn’t fare as well. Not to pick on Freddie Highmore, who has proven himself to be a gifted actor, but he’s in that awkward, adolescent stage of his career, and he’s just not very convincing in this film. The first half hour, where we learn of the families divorce story, is quite slow and will probably bore the kiddies as much as their parents. Things pick up when we meet the creatures. Some are cute and harmless, while others have nasty claws and are more than capable of killing the children. I would argue that in a film aimed at children, the fantasy elements need to be much more consistent; choosing either the comedy or the serious adventure mold, but mixing both does not work. “The Spiderwick Chronicles” is all over the map, and the variable style robs the film of some of its wonder. Still, the young ones will enjoy the adventure once the monsters take the screen, and mom will enjoy the themes of family loyalty. “The Spiderwick Chronicles” is certainly better than most of the other films currently playing in theatres, but it’s just not magical enough to launch a new fantasy franchise. Movie reviews by Sean, “The Movie Guy,” are published Wednesdays and Fridays in “The Port Arthur News.” He can be found weekly on KAVU-TV, KFDM-TV, and KVIC Radio. Additional reviews can be found at www.rottentomatoes.com, www.panews.com or at www.myvictoriaonline.com. Sean welcomes your comments via email at smcbride@kavutv.com.