Yet another underwhelming, uninspired latter-day offering from the once-great Tim Burton, this adaptation of the 2011 Ransom Riggs novel is dead on arrival. Burton never really bothers to convince the audience that the story is worth the effort, with a lifeless, aimless plot limping from scene to scene yet somehow feeling overly complicated before arriving at an overlong, tiresome climax that comes out of nowhere. Eva Green is underused in the titular role, while none of the other performances register at all. Young lead Asa Butterfield, in particular, is too serious and charmless for his role, with little cohesion between his performance and everyone else’s.
Rating: ★★ (out of 5)
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