Tin Man

[kickaha]

Queued it all up so I could watch it in a row. Halfway through, and...

Pros: Love the mish-mash of noir and steampunk, and the variations on the characters. Feels like an Elseworlds story. Glitch is great. (Duh, it's Alan Cummings...) FLYING BOOB MONKEYS!

Cons: The acting. Ow. Zooey Deschanel in particular - she has two modes: bored, and mock horror, and her movements are more mechanical than Jack Haley's. It's a little *too* far afield from the source - to the point that, other than the title and a few names, there's really no reason to tie it to the Baum books.

I was hoping for a nice dark adaptation, closer in spirit to the books than most works have been, but... it was not to be. (And what *is* it with every film involving family ending in redemption? I'm only halfway through, and I can see where this is going...)

Comments

[franktheavenger.livejournal.com]

Because Family Is Good. ALWAYS.

[kickaha.livejournal.com]

Well I supposed it *is* a twisted alternate dimension with only slight relation to our own, so... I'll accept it.

I could stand her acting bored. . .

[sfeldon.livejournal.com]

But she keeps acting bored while interrupting people who are better actors than she is!

And the music is directly from that alternate universe classic _Indiana Jones and the Yellow Brick Road_.

Re: I could stand her acting bored. . .

[kickaha.livejournal.com]

Yeah... noticed that about the music as well. They changed every fourth note or so for the main theme, I swear, and tossed in some Burton-esque elements for spice.

Not as bad a ripoff as the main LOTR theme though. Play it, and Bruce Hornsby's _The Way It Is_ intro back to back. Same. Damned. Riff. Former ends in a minor, latter in a major. Now that I've forever ruined those films for you, you're welcome. :)

[morgyne.livejournal.com]

Yeah I'm not sure why everyone loves Zooey Deschanel. She is cute, but I remember how horrid she was in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

[kickaha.livejournal.com]

Definitely in the "Just don't say anything, and smile for the camera, sweetie" camp. Sad but true.

[lirrin.livejournal.com]

Thank god I'm not the only one who thought her acting was atrocious. She's cute as a button, I'll give her that, but good lord. A cute brick would have done as well. Best scenes were the few with just Glitch and Cain.

And, um, ending aside...it seems to me that leaving the stupid Emerald lost in the first place would have been the best course of action. Without it, no problem, she can't mess with the eclipse. Okay, it ended up being better that they found it, but STILL. C'mon people.

[kickaha.livejournal.com]

Well, I think it's the whole "Destroy the Bad Witch and free the peeples" schtick. Azzie wants the gem to finalize her grip, Deeg (OMG, I've been having Full House flashbacks, and now I know why.) & Co. want the gem to break her grip once and for all. Leaving it be would leave the status quo.

Stupid noble sense of heroics.

But, since I'm only halfway through (ending tonight), I'll hold off final judgment until it's done. (Psst - no spoilers. ;) Oh who am I kidding... they're telegraphing so much, the damned show should be sponsored by Western Union.)

[herithoth.livejournal.com]

I found myself watching this like watching a train wreck. The plot and the acting were at an elementary level. Zooey's innocent child look just kept irritating me as was the fifteenth time they told her to concentrate and remember. Appropriate if she was five but not 25. I wanted her to use more magic than she did. I did like Toto and Glitch. I'd say the quality was on par for many of SciFi's miniseries. As Zen_oven would say "there's another hour of my life I'll never get back".

[kickaha.livejournal.com]

*Six*! *Six* hours!

On the last hour now - is it just me, or does it get less and less 'epic' as it goes along? Shouldn't it be the other way around?

[ginkgo.livejournal.com]

I'm only halfway through, and I can see where this is going...

"Ow. Quit it."

Oh who am I kidding... they're telegraphing so much, the damned show should be sponsored by Western Union.

"Ow. Quit it."

On the last hour now - is it just me, or does it get less and less 'epic' as it goes along? Shouldn't it be the other way around?

"Ow. Quit it."

/point

:D

It's a little *too* far afield from the source - to the point that, other than the title and a few names, there's really no reason to tie it to the Baum books.

Naah, the point to that is cheap writing. Relying on a viewer imagining a world someone else created and only spinning that is far easier than creating new content. Pahtooie.

[kickaha.livejournal.com]

You mean like Battlestar Galactica? :D

(and you're gonna get *such* a pinch...)

[zenhack.livejournal.com]

I agree on mish-mash, glitch and boob monkeys, great stuff. I do wish it was a tad dark, zooey's acting was very lackluster. I really like the concept of the adaptation, but felt there were glaring plot devices that made little sense to the story.

[kickaha.livejournal.com]

Agreed. If not for the horrible acting on some parts, it could have been quite enticing. (I mean come on, 'Tin Man' as slang for 'copper', *and* a reference to the metal suit he was locked in? Beauty.)

[zenhack.livejournal.com]

btw tell me you noticed that all the rebels in that one scene were wearing our favorite brand of kilts ... awesome costumes lawl