Dom Holder’s review published on Letterboxd:
Oh no! Oh dear! I'm really truly sorry everyone..............but I didn't like it.
I've seldom been so disappointed in a film that I was so looking forward to it, but it just didn't do anything for me, so much so that I'm start to feel a little bit foolish, because I'm clearly missing something.
I so wanted to love this, the trailer was brilliantly put together and the shot of the giants gave me goosebumps. But it turns out that the giants, like the rest of the film, are simply there, they don't actually add anything plot-wise.
On a positive note, I think Dev Patel is a seriously talented actor and is one of the only things that stopped me from turning the film off. He has such intensity, I have never known an actor looks so much like they are truly listening to what other characters are saying.
The film does look impressive, but not quite as impressive as I was led to believe, and I think here stems the problem for me. I think I was expecting a fantasy epic on a similar scale to The Lord of the Rings, but it just isn't, in fact, there isn't an action scene to speak of, it is just a man going for a wander. There is no real peril and I kept waiting for the drama to kick in. I personally found it incredibly laborious, and I have to confess on occasions unintentionally giggle-inducing.
The opening 10-15 minutes, the traditional plot setting part of the film was actually quite promising, but it just never kicked on for me. It was ponderous, with character after character delivering monotone monologue after monotone monologue. And what the hell was with the green belt???
I try always to be positive with films even if they are a disappointment and I have to say I am thrilled that people have really taken to it, but you can't win them all, and this just baffled and frustrated me enormously. I did watch this on Prime, so whilst I am quite pleased that I didn't pay extra to watch it, I do concede that it may have been a completely different experience on the big screen, but my word, I found this a slog.
