This film is a mess, pure and simple. From the confusing narrative (constantly switching between the story and Old Tonto remembering it) to the extreme amounts of silliness (with Silver the Horse, for example) to a shocking amount of violence for a Disney film (especially the heart-cutting scene, even if off-camera) to the confusion over whether there were actual supernatural events or they were just Tonto making them up; I spent so much time just shaking my head or facepalming. Was it a bad case of Executive Meddling?
Which is not to say that I didn't have fun watching it. There *are* plenty of things to see in the movie: from truly funny moments to some very moving ones (my favorite was the death of John's brother, I felt I was handled well.) The acting was OK and the action scenes were good, especially towards the end. I think that, if only it had been directed better, instead of trying to force it to be another Pirates of the Caribbean, this would have a better film. As it is, I can only recommend it for the weird experience of watching it, as if it were a B movie.
A Jumbled Mess
This film is a mess, pure and simple. From the confusing narrative (constantly switching between the story and Old Tonto remembering it) to the extreme amounts of silliness (with Silver the Horse, for example) to a shocking amount of violence for a Disney film (especially the heart-cutting scene, even if off-camera) to the confusion over whether there were actual supernatural events or they were just Tonto making them up; I spent so much time just shaking my head or facepalming. Was it a bad case of Executive Meddling?
Which is not to say that I didn't have fun watching it. There *are* plenty of things to see in the movie: from truly funny moments to some very moving ones (my favorite was the death of John's brother, I felt I was handled well.) The acting was OK and the action scenes were good, especially towards the end. I think that, if only it had been directed better, instead of trying to force it to be another Pirates of the Caribbean, this would have a better film. As it is, I can only recommend it for the weird experience of watching it, as if it were a B movie.