Artemis Fowl (2020)
Directed by Kenneth Branagh
Artemis Fowl is a 12-year-old genius and descendant of a long line of criminal masterminds. He soon finds himself in an epic battle against a race of powerful underground fairies who may be behind his father's disappearance.
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8 films that influenced Artemis Fowl
What critics say influenced Artemis Fowl
In their matching black suits, shooting lasers at fairies, Artemis and his body guard look like a little league version of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in Men in Black.
There's also a dash of Men in Black in the black suits and sunglasses, and the fairy weapons.
The fairies — who, we’re shown, keep the world safe from bad magical creatures, then flashy-thing the humans’ memories, a la “Men in Black” — soon are in a standoff with Artie and Domovoi, after Artie has taken Holly as a prisoner.
Mixing aspects of "Harry Potter," "Lord of the Rings" and "Men in Black" but coming off more like "Agent Cody Banks" with fairies, "Artemis Fowl" is a slick-looking but unruly disaster, a potential franchise that shows up dead on arrival.
This is not as it may sound an incitement to a rave, but indicative of the tale’s fairy-punk esthetic, best described as Harry Potter meets Men in Black .
He’s great because we say he is, and also, he wears a suit for some reason, totally unrelated to Men in Black , of course.
Debuting child actor Ferdia Shaw shows early promise as the precocious title character as we’re introduced to father-son themes, including a diary like Sean Connery in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (1989).
The militarized fairies recall the tech-savvy elves in animated movies such as “Arthur Christmas” and “Prep & Landing.”
The acclaimed composer of previous fantasies/fairytales such as Brave , Thor and Harry Potter perfectly adds to the fantastical elements.
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With a dodgy Irish accent and a lurching physical performance, she entirely inhabits the demeanour of a whisky-addled cop who's seen it all – it's as jaw-droppingly comical as Tom Hanks's turn as Dermot Hoggins in Cloud Atlas .
(It’s also kind of a rip-off of Artemis Fowl’s Mulch Diggums.)
This is a fantasy world that should feel like a more action-oriented cousin to the films of Cartoon Saloon, the Irish studio behind Song of the Sea, who make films indebted to Irish mythology without ever flirting with a caricature.
Prince of Persia , John Carter , The Lone Ranger , Tomorrowland and A Wrinkle in Time all failed to generate the intended interest via theatrical release.