Artemis Fowl 2020
I never read the Artemis Fowl books and therefore had no idea what to expect from this movie. Due to Covid-19 closing the theaters, Disney decided to cancel the theatrical run and make this an exclusive on Disney Plus where it got decidedly poor reviews with only a 10% favorable rating on Rotten Tomatoes. By lowering expectations, Artemis Fowl was almost guaranteed to surpass them. It is important to realize that the movie is targeted at younger audiences, so it isn’t trying to make any powerful statements. Also, as the first episode (and maybe the last due to the lack of box office and bad reviews) there is a lot of exposition regarding the title character and his father (both named Artemis Fowl) plus an unseen magical world. I feel like exposition, if it is done right, can be a substitute for character development and that is the case here. Plus, centering on two characters played by unknown young actors, it doesn’t hurt to have them portrayed a little stiffly instead of very nuanced. Some, maybe many, parts of the movie are rough around the edges and some characters seem like cardboard cutouts like a security head played cartoonishly by Judi Dench. The main villain barely has a part as the protagonists start out behind and are trying to catch up. And a fairy army leaves a lot to be desired, with silly marching and overly glittery uniforms. Still, like previous Disney features about smart kids, Tomorrowland and A Wrinkle in Time, the movie has a lot of imagination and is fun to watch unfold. Movies like this celebrate literacy, intelligence, family, and friendship, and I like that combination. Unlike Marvel, there aren’t any giant fights between impervious superheroes. It takes more after Harry Potter, but seems to make a little more sense, and is certainly more entertaining than Fantastic Beasts. Maybe because I haven’t been able to get out much, or maybe because the critics made me think this was going to be the worst movie of the year, I am going to give it a low B+.
Update July 2021: After watching Nomadland I wanted to watch something fun and mindless, so I watched this movie again. I was probably overly generous in my initial review, but I still might give it a B. It sets up an interesting world of magical creatures and some of the characters are compelling, but the main conflict is terrible, mostly a barely explored setup for a sequel. Really the movie is just an introduction and works fine on that level. I would have liked to have seen the young Artemis Fowl demonstrate his intelligence a little more than basically one scene where he debunks a chair. And while I don’t mind that he is so arrogant and hateful at school, I would have liked to have seen a little more humanity from him in his personal life. He seems to genuinely love his father, but in sort of a selfish way, and even when the world is in the balance he seems like he is willing to trade that for his father’s return. Still, it is a fun movie, not that challenging, and with some serious flaws.
Written: 17 Jun 2020