Artemis Fowl

Synopsis: Artemis Fowl is a 12-year-old genius and descendant of a long line of criminal masterminds. He soon finds himself in an epic battle against a race of powerful underground fairies who may be behind his father's disappearance.

Movie Review:

"Artemis Fowl” is based on the young adult novels of the same name. Kenneth Branagh directs this messy, convoluted film with some embarrassing acting from its lead cast and is one of the worst films I have seen all year. My biggest issue with the movie is that it has too many plots and story elements that it will make your head spin trying to keep them all strait – just a confusing movie. After almost 30 minutes, you will soon be asking yourself, ‘what is this movie really about?’ The storyline about the fairies was interesting but lacked explanation or backstory. And poor editing resulted in back and forth scenes between the fairy world and Artemis’ mansion which were totally confusing. Ferdia Shaw plays the main character Artemis Fowl, Jr. and he lacks the enthusiasm and heroism -- basically all the characteristics he needs to rescue his father. Instead he was weak and boring. Laura McDonnell plays the main fairy Holly Short who helps Artemis find his father; she is the only bright spot in the movie. Even Judie Dench and Colin Farrell who plays Artemis Fowl, Sr. couldn’t save this movie. Dench plays Commander Root and is in charge of the Fairy’s Army. She imitates a weird voice which is comparable to sounding like Batman and it was laughable and cringeworthy at the same time. The most annoying aspect about this film is Josh Gad. He plays dwarf Mulch Diggums who is a thief and I did not like his character at all; he tries to be the comedian in the movie, but the humor is awkwardly not funny, and it falls flat. For some reason, he also narrates the movie which felt unnecessary, especially since he uses a fake accent which is just annoying. The CGI was also cartoon like which was irritating throughout. With terrible acting, a messy plot that goes nowhere, and bad CGI, this movie was a big disappointment. I am giving “Artemis Fowl” a 1.5 out of 5 stars.

Director: Kenneth Branagh

Cast: Ferdia Shaw, Lara McDonnell, Josh Gad, Nonso Anozie, Tamara Smart, With Colin Farell and Judie Dench

Runtime: 95 minutes