Artemis Fowl (2020)

Rating: ⭐⭐

Disney's latest fantasy adventure Artemis Fowl has high ambition of being the next Harry Potter since it appears to have all the ingredients in place .. a big budget, based on a popular series of eight fantasy novels, featuring young teenagers as the main characters, story filled with magic, fairies, and other mystical creatures, and supporting cast that includes Colin Farrell and Judi Dench, and an ace director, Kenneth Branagh at the helm. It is a dream formula for success and a new franchise! Right?

Wrong! Sadly, Artemis Fowl failed to deliver. Perhaps this was not unexpected for Disney. The writing was on the wall in a sense when Disney strangely decided to release this over its streaming service Disney+ in June. It was originally intended for a theatrical release but instead of postponing the release due to the corvid-19 pandemic like all the major releases for 2020, a direct to streaming decision was made. This seems strange given the high level of special effects which would naturally be more impressive on the big screen rather than at home on a TV display. This choice implied a low confidence level for it to do well at the box office.

Many fans of the novels were not happy with the adaptation which apparently steers off significantly from its original source. The relatively short running time of just over one and a half hours created a constraint in the level of characterization and plot. Artemis Fowl for instance is supposed to be a young criminal prodigy but this aspect of his character was poorly conceived. The so called villain is a barely visible character in heavy cloak, and so poorly developed that we did not even see how he was defeated at the end! Colin Farrell is generally good in everything he is in but here, he is hardly given any screentime and hence unable to create much of an impact. Dame Judi Dench appears as an aging commander of fairy law enforcement but looked even more uncomfortable and ridiculous here than she did in Cats. Honestly Judi, are you in such desperate need for the money?

Finally, the disappointment of this being directed by the great Kenneth Branagh. Hard to believe that he is responsible for this! The end result is not something adults can enjoy. It has mild entertainment value and good special effects, and can probably appeal to the really younger viewers. Let's hope that there won't be more Artemis Fowl movies.