Monday, January 7, 2008

Shame On You, Guillermo

Looking at that picture makes me sad. What is that?! Guillermo del Toro went from Pan's Labyrinth to that?? It's so confusing to me. He turned down the chance to direct Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to make Hellboy (the original - whee). Fine, whatever. We'll let that slide. His buddy Alfonso Cuaron directed it and knocked it out of the park. Cuaron has a much better track record anyway. He's a consistent genius. Granted, I haven't seen Hellboy, but it looks just awful.


Okay, so he turned down Harry Potter once. They asked him again for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. He declined. Why? To make Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Give me a break. Is he too good to direct a Harry Potter film? Does he think it's kid stuff? His friend Alfonso didn't seem to think so. Look at that picture! The same mind that brought the world Pan's Labyrinth reverted to that, an atrocious-looking sequel to an atrocious-looking movie. Comics are okay, but Harry Potter isn't up to his level? Harry Potter has more intelligence, depth, character, and style in one wand than Hellboy could ever have.


I think he made a lousy choice. He could totally do his own thing with Harry Potter and reinvent it like Cuaron did. He'd be perfect for the material, if he'd give it a chance. There's one more film left. I assume they'll ask him again. This time, I hope he makes the right decision. Do the right thing, Guillermo, I beg of you. I would just really love to see how he would handle the darkness of Deathly Hallows. It's right up his alley - what's his problem? He could make a masterpiece instead of some stupid, derivative sequel. But if he insists on making Hellboy 3 or something equally trashy, then bring Alfonso Cuaron back. He'd end the series with a bang.

1 comment:

Bill Treadway said...

Hellboy was actually a surprisingly good movie. Very tongue in cheek with lots of black humor. I'd give it ***1/2 out of 4 stars.

Oh, BTW-rent the theatrical cut. I don't think the longer Director's Cut is an improvement.