Gulliver's Travels (2010)

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Charming and brutal

Absolutely amazing

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Lemuel Gulliver has been working in the mail room of a New York daily newspaper for the past ten years. Afraid to put himself out there, he considers himself a loser, as do all his peers. Darcy Silverman, the newspaper's travel editor and one of Gulliver's only friends sends him on an assignment to the Bermuda Triangle. There, Gulliver becomes shipwrecked and ends up on the island of Liliput, where he is twelve taller than the tallest man. Gulliver's Travels is not a film that needs to be taken completely serious but for what is worth and with such a talented cast it's way better than it gets credit for and alot of fun as well Jack Black fans will not be disappointed in my opinion. (10/10)

The reason why most modern movies are so dim-witted is obvious after watching Rob Letterman's version of Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels": the film has been made by restless kids for restless kids...and if you're not a restless kid, the inane dialogue ("Dude, that is harsh!"), the hammy star performance and the elaborate but familiar special effects are not enough to hold interest. We know so much about how effects-oriented movies are made these days that to have Jack Black constantly interacting with the Lilliputians in the same way (hunched over in front of a green screen and nodding maniacally) offers us no magic, no mystery and no fun. A mailroom worker with a New York City newspaper invents a talent for writing and is immediately given an assignment: to explore the Bermuda Triangle! (there's a current topic burning on everyone's mind). His boat is sucked into a waterspout and he washes up on the city of Lilliput, inhabited by tiny people--and a princess in danger. Screenwriters Joe Stillman and Nicholas Stoller specialize in a sort of frat boy/post-druggie sense of humor meant to tickle 10-year-olds. In this case, Black was the actor for them, as the star is still doing the same sloppy, cool-nerd shtick he specialized in over a decade ago. The whole picture feels like an awful rerun, with cheap, prodding jokes; at one point, Black goads lovestruck Horatio into dancing to the Prince song "Kiss", but instead of laughing we're wondering why the producers used a sound-alike version of the tune in place of the original (too expensive on a budget of $112 million?). Had Black suddenly started dancing too, it would be about as logical as anything else happening in "Gulliver's Travels". With nothing fresh added to the story and nothing interesting happening from a visual standpoint, this unfunny fiasco aimed at the collective hip-factor will only appeal to restless kids--undiscriminating ones. * from ****

After hearing such negative things about this film I thought watching it would help me come to my own conclusion, and yesterday I was in luck as it was showing on Film 4.Firstly you have Jack Black being, well....Jack Black so expect a lot of references to rock music, general bristling energy and enthusiasm.Anyway, Gulliver (Black) is in love with one of the girls, Darcy(Peet)who works in newspaper offices of which he is one of the mail room assistants for, in order to try and win her affection he writes a report(which is mostly made up of articles copied and pasted from the internet). To his delight she is initially very pleased with his work, Gulliver then sets off to the Bermuda Triangle on an assignment set by Darcy which turns into a disaster when Gulliver's boat is swallowed by a water type hurricane(strange sure)and he then wakes up in an unfamiliar setting, a town full of little people.Initially regarded as "beast" by the little people of the town, he eventually wins them over by committing what they consider heroic deeds. Along the way he meets Horatio(Segel:- an actor who's work I'm not familiar with)who he tries to help win over the princess(Blunt)whilst she is the object of the main antagonist,General Edward(O'Dowds)affection who frequently "courts" her to no avail leading him to frustration which will later have an effect on the film itself.The film also features appearances by other famous comedic actors notably Billy Connolly, Catherine Tate and James Cordon as king, queen and their messenger respectively.Overall good family fun with the occasional silliness (the song and dance number comes to mind)and Emily Blunts beauty on screen makes the film worth watching.My rating 6/10

Personally I wasn't that impressed with the film, it was an easy watch on Film 4 so I didn't lose money on it so it balances out.I didn't really relate or believe in any of the characters (fictional or not) and the whole film seem squeezed in towards the end like there should of been 2 films but they didn't have the budget for it.I think Jack Black was right for the role but the film didn't do him justice. Maybe he was expecting something more like his role in 'King Kong' when he read the script?I'm sounding too negative now so ermm...It may be a good film for children if you can be bothered to explain what the Bermuda Triangle is.Dan