Wordiezett So much average

Cortechba Overrated

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Gutsycurene Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

Kirpianuscus dark, intense. and... amusing. a different story but so well known. remembering values and the atmosphere of old German fairy tales. and something else. a form of innocence who seems be far by us. it is strange to analyze it. because it is just a complete story in which the Death has a surprising role, in which the Evil has a different status and friendship becomes, again, the source of force against dark challenges. so, a nice film. dark, intense. and...amusing. maybe, perfect for adults. for to escape from the classic formulas of a great holiday.

G Rose A slightly more recent review. I watched this based on a still image I saw of one of the ending scenes, and the words- 'You're saying humans need...fantasies to make life bearable.' That scene is really the backbone of this plot, and the brief moments of sobering, heartfelt dialogue amongst the humour and fun are really perfect. The set, and actors are completely full of life, and perfect for this.The author was very involved in the making of this (and there are even fun little videos of him in the extras), which I think is one of the reasons it exceeds expectations. I've never read any Pratchett, but this adaptation made me think I probably should. If you get a chance to watch this- and you are a fan of similar Christmas & magic themed films such as Arthur Christmas, and Rise of the Guardians (which has a similar tooth fairy angle), or just fancy a fun Christmassy romp with a smart undercurrent and heart, then you will be very happy with this.

TheLittleSongbird Hogfather for me is not as good as Going Postal, but it is better than the enjoyable but uneven Colour of Magic. I haven't read the book in a while, but I do remember it going delving into the story and characters more than this adaptation did.Hogfather does look wonderful though. The sets are beautiful, as are the costumes and the photography and special effects are interesting. The music is also a plus, both haunting and beautiful, the writing is decent with some nice humour in the mix and the story is a great idea with some fun scenes.The cast mostly do a very good job. Marc Warren does very nice work, David Jason is a warm presence and David Warner is very distinguished, but the standout was the late Ian Richardson's Death who is just brilliant.Hogfather despite its strengths isn't perfect. The pace could have been a lot tighter than it was, I felt some scenes dragged. My other problem was that while Michelle Dockery looks beautiful and has some nice moments of acting her character is not explored as well as she could've been.In conclusion, a good and enjoyable adaptation. 8/10 Bethany Cox

eatmysword Those who are familiar with the author's works will no doubt have been impressed with the imagery of Ankh-Morpork. This, for the director would not have been hard to achieve due to the mass of material available in comics, artwork, games and other media already depicting the murky twin city. Where it failed for me was simply the terrible casting of the central characters, when combined with completely unimaginative direction utterly failed to deliver the sharp satire and irony Pratchett has honed over the years. Michelle Dockery's performance was sadly wooden particularly in her scenes with Death. Marc Warren, no stranger to creepy roles, although suitably pantomime lacked presence. David Jason was clearly cast only for a recognisable name in the title, the producers clearly not expecting the younger viewers to recognise the only talent on show,that of David Warner, the late Ian Richardson (competing brilliantly with Christopher Lee's sonorous baritone) as Death and the one inspiring moment of Jeremy Irons as Vetinari. I concede that it's not one of Pratchet's stronger tales but it does annoy me that some of these characters will be reappearing in future adaptations and there needs to be changes in the staffing of the pre-production team if these irritants are going to be ironed out. Personally my favourite characters are the collective City Watch and if they find any reason to squeeze David Jason in there I will weep. His casting as Albert was badly misjudged but his casting as Rincewind in the unpolished Colour of Magic utterly boggled. If I was 5 or 8 years old I may have rated it higher for it's Yuletide novelty value but i'm not so i didn't. Until someone of the imaginative calibre of Tim Burton or Terry Gilliam can be found,Pratchett's material should be left on the pages