Artemis Fowl – 2/5 stars
After his father is kidnapped, 12-year old Artemis Fowl (Ferdina Shaw) must use his genius to out-wit an underground police force of fairies. He captures Holly Short (Lara McDonnell) and holds her for ransom in an attempt to find the Aculos and save his father.
Directed by Kenneth Branagh (Murder on the Orient Express, Thor, Cinderella (2015)), Artemis Fowl was released on Disney Plus June 12. Wow, this movie was really bad. Which was really disappointing because I was pretty excited to get a new, free movie included with Disney Plus. After being pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed Onward, I was hoping for a similar experience. That didn’t happen.
Even with big named actors like Josh Gad, Colin Farrell and Judi Dench, this movie just seemed like a dud. The story was weak, the acting was weak, the special effects were just OK, and there wasn’t really any character development. For his breakout role, I didn’t think Shaw really pulled off the cocky mastermind Artemis was supposed to be. I thought McDonnell did decently with her role as Short, but everyone else was just mediocre and forgettable. It was pretty confusing because it didn’t really explain the world or the technology to people who never read the books. I still never found out what the Aculos was or did, even though it was supposed to be one of the most powerful items in the world.
Now, I never read the books but I’m guessing they had to have been better than this movie. This seemed like a C-rated, cringey, Wal-Mart off-brand Harry Potter. I know what you’re thinking: don’t sugarcoat it. How do I really feel?
I give this movie 2/5 stars and would definitely not recommend it. It was just really disappointing and cringey. I think Artemis Fowl is my lowest rated movie yet, because I’m not in the habit of watching bad movies. This was just one I was excited for and wanted to review because it just released today to stream. And even though it seemed to be targeted for kids, it just did not seem like a quality movie. Pass.
