I cannot lie, I had high expectations for this film, seeing as the books hold such a special place in my childhood/teen hood. This film somehow felt really short despite its 2.5 hour runtime. I genuinely feel this would have been better to do in a series format. There was too much to fit into a single movie, which meant that not a lot was able to happen. I think this meant the movie lacked character development and plot development. Some scenes felt unnecessary, and it meant many scenes that could have been included were lost.
The costuming was amazing, I was in love with how they all looked. The same goes with the set designs. The CGI was average, but for Netflix, I won't hold it against them. I also think some music choices felt unnecessary and purely there to include popular songs to be relevant. Specifically the use of the song Brutal (Olivia Rodrigo), it took away from the fantasy nature of the movie. That being said, the use of Toxic (by 2WEI) was totally the right choice and completely enhanced the battle.
Agatha's character, although she was accurate in her personality, her looks did not correlate with how people treated her. Sofia Wylie was gorgeous, so it didn't feel right when people were calling her ugly and a witch. I laughed out loud when she said, "this is what a normal person looks like" while she was in a stunning gown and looking like a princess. I think more could have been done to make her look more unusual rather than just a messed up wig. It honestly lowered the self-confidence to see this incredible girl being mocked for her looks. I also think that as much as I loved Sophie's character, I think she was too likeable. Before being taken to the schools, her selfish and vain intentions were not as obvious as they were in the book. As well as this, she wasn't just sitting and waiting to be taken to the school, it was more unexpected. I think this made her genuinely seem like she was truely good, which in the books was less obvious.
As a hopeless romantic, I hated that they took away the slow burn of Tedros and Agatha's relationship. I agree that they may have done this due to a lack of time, however he seemed to be in love with her from the first time he saw her. This made the relationship a lot more cliché when it is meant to be a weird relationship which shocks people.
So to summarise, I liked the movie. But it felt rushed and lacked the magic it had in the book. A series I think would have been a better decision to be able to better expand on this amazing universe. There were too many characters and plot points and just simply not enough time. That all being said, I would be excited for a second film and seeing what they do with the story and how they adapt to the feedback given.
The costuming was amazing, I was in love with how they all looked. The same goes with the set designs. The CGI was average, but for Netflix, I won't hold it against them. I also think some music choices felt unnecessary and purely there to include popular songs to be relevant. Specifically the use of the song Brutal (Olivia Rodrigo), it took away from the fantasy nature of the movie. That being said, the use of Toxic (by 2WEI) was totally the right choice and completely enhanced the battle.
Agatha's character, although she was accurate in her personality, her looks did not correlate with how people treated her. Sofia Wylie was gorgeous, so it didn't feel right when people were calling her ugly and a witch. I laughed out loud when she said, "this is what a normal person looks like" while she was in a stunning gown and looking like a princess. I think more could have been done to make her look more unusual rather than just a messed up wig. It honestly lowered the self-confidence to see this incredible girl being mocked for her looks. I also think that as much as I loved Sophie's character, I think she was too likeable. Before being taken to the schools, her selfish and vain intentions were not as obvious as they were in the book. As well as this, she wasn't just sitting and waiting to be taken to the school, it was more unexpected. I think this made her genuinely seem like she was truely good, which in the books was less obvious.
As a hopeless romantic, I hated that they took away the slow burn of Tedros and Agatha's relationship. I agree that they may have done this due to a lack of time, however he seemed to be in love with her from the first time he saw her. This made the relationship a lot more cliché when it is meant to be a weird relationship which shocks people.
So to summarise, I liked the movie. But it felt rushed and lacked the magic it had in the book. A series I think would have been a better decision to be able to better expand on this amazing universe. There were too many characters and plot points and just simply not enough time. That all being said, I would be excited for a second film and seeing what they do with the story and how they adapt to the feedback given.
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