2 out of 5

Director: Tim Burton

I’m sure it’s all sorts of silly.  I haven’t seen the original to say whether or not that’s expected, and though I’m sure Burton has / had some connection to the source material, there is this odd combination of big budget and “this is odd that I have a big budget” that worked well for creating a purposeful element of camp in Burton’s more fully realized films (e.g. Edward Scissorhands) but has come across as distancing in his “legitimate” Hollywood flicks.  Wahlberg has proven his acting style works for particular roles, but the always-aghast action man doesn’t carry this properly, never really letting us feel too caught up in either the dramatics or action sequences.  BUT – the look is a lot of fun, and probably the highlight.  A lot of work was done to make these (mostly) men-in-suits look good and it pays off, as well as the training to get people moving like apes – they have a powerful presence on film.  Whether the intent was to make something serious or lighthearted is sort of unclear, and the film’s major downfall – the overblown nature of the whole thing suggests the former, but then the shrug-it-off wrap up suggests the latter.  Without committing to either (at least to my viewing sensibilities), this PotA remake is truly a TV watch – something you flip on to, let your eyes glaze over, and have no connection to.