REVIEW: Gulliver's Travels (2D)

MOVIE
Gulliver's Travels

CAST
Jack Black, Jason Segal

RATING
PG

RELEASE
December 25, 2010

DIRECTOR
Rob Letterman

STUDIO
20th Century Fox

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 25 minutes




GRADE
A- (90)






STARS
***1/4

REVIEW:

Ah, Christmas: what a lovely time for Jews. Instead of getting a whole load of presents, we get movies and Chinese food. That's what I did today, my 13th Christmas; go see a movie and eat some Chinese food afterwords. The movie that my grandmother, my sister, and myself chose to see is Jack Black's latest family movie, Gulliver's Travels, which is based on the Jonathan Swift classic, about a man who comes into the tiny world of the Lilliputs, in which he makes a living for himself until he figures out how to get home. Now with all recent Jack Black films, you can't help but think that this will not be a good movie. Well let me be here to tell you that for those who don't like Jack Black films with absolutely think it sucks. Those who only like raunchy PG-13+ Jack Black will hate this movie. But people who like Jack Black no matter what, and families who are desperate for something to see other than Tangled or Yogi Bear will enjoy this movie. Luckily, I am one of those no matter what Jack Black fans, which means that I, believe it or not, actually enjoyed Gulliver's Travels.

SYNOPSIS: (Courtesy of iTunes Movie Trailers)
In a contemporary re-imagining of the classic tale, Jack Black stars as Gulliver, a big-talking mail room clerk who, after he's mistakenly assigned a travel piece on the Bermuda Triangle, suddenly finds himself a giant among men when he washes ashore on the hidden island of Lilliput, home to a population of very tiny people. At first enslaved by the diminutive and industrious Liliputians, and later declared their hero, Gulliver comes to learn that it's how big you are on the inside that counts.

Now with all movies that I see, I go in with an open mind. But after hearing negative to mixed buzz on this movie, I was wondering if I should see this or not. The theaters around me didn't offer the 3D option, so we had to stick with 2D, which made me even more turned off. But luckily, I was not disappointed with it. First off, it's a fun, kiddish, family-friendly movie. With the exception of seeing Jack Black's crack, (see what I did there? I should make a rhyming book) and a situation where Jack Black pees on a burning building, this is nothing more than a Jack Black kiddie version of Ben Stiller's hilarious Night At The Museum series. Second off, the 3D option is put out there to make more money, with the exception of movies like Avatar and Tron: Legacy. Although, I did see a 3D trailer of this movie with Narnia, so I thought it might actually look good. But honestly, the movie was fine for being in 2D.

Now getting onto the story, I thought it was incredibly predictable and not well thought out. The story felt as if I could write it, even though it's based on a classic book written almost 300 years ago. The movie itself is only a meager 85 minutes, including the credits, which is quite disappointing for a movie that could've elaborated more into the story. But still, the movie kept my attention, feeling timeless and longer than you'd think it is. So the story may not be the best thing in the world, but it's still fun to see this little world and Jack Black being stuck in this tiny world, where everyone acts like they are in The Princess Bride, in which they don't do anything to actually save themselves.

So is Gulliver's Travels a good movie? Actually, I enjoyed it more than Little Fockers, one of the two other big Christmas releases. (the other one being the teriffic True Grit) This one yopu could compare to Little Fockers since Ben Stiller was in a similar movie to this, Night At The Museum. Plus, both movies do have some language and bathroom jokes. I'm not saying that this is the absolute best family movie to see during the holiday break. It is if you're family has already seen the teriffic Tangled and the supposed crappy movie Yogi Bear. This won't do teriffic at the box office, but it's a nice way to kill time and have some laughs with your kids.

So if you've seen every teriffic family movie and every crappy family movie out there, you have no choice but to go see Gulliver's Travels. Luckily, you might just be surprised by how much fun it is. So should you go see Gulliver's Travels in 3D? You don't have to. So should you just see Gulliver's Travels in general? I think you should, and I think you will be surprised by it. So if you want to spend a short amount of time in a movie theater with your kids and either watch the movie or watch your kids reactions to what's going on, take the risk and go along with your family and Jack Black in Gulliver's Travels.





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