Let's go back to a time when dinosaurs ruled the Earth
Lemony Snicket's quirky and uncaring word comes to life in the movie adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate events. I for one find the film to be a solid children's adventure movie outside of being a loose adaption of the actual material the world, however, is a different story. After smoking joint this movie gets even more weirder and translucent. You'll see things that are similar to the technology we have but with a slight "steam punky" spin. It's an intricate experience that constantly had me looking at things in the background.
By now I'm sure everyone knows the story of the Baudelaire orphans, the children who are constantly escaping the clutches of the greedy yet charismatic, Count Olaf, who is after the enormous fortune their parents left behind. While the child actors do a somewhat decent job, it's Jim Carrey as the Count who warrants a high viewing of this film. Every movement he makes is comedic in some way. He's cartoony but he never leaves reality, he's funny until he's scary. It's a polarizing performance that had me laughing at things that weren't even part of the jokes. I absolutely prefer him over Neil Patrick Harris, who seems to just be attempting to emulate Carrey's performance.
The World building is the real reason to watch this high. There are so many little bits and bobs here and there that actually serve some purpose. It's also hilarious that they built and entire fictional cartoon franchise around "The Littlest Elf" and even use one of the toy products to escape a train collision. I also found myself pausing the movie to read signs and other background details I found to be interesting. The world isn't full-on steam punk but it certainly has hints of it. It feels like a parallel universe in which things are run far more bureaucratically than we already are and where adults seem to be clueless. It's a mysterious atmosphere and it's consistent all the way through and the cinematography is gorgeous. If you ask me this is what makes it a good adaptation of the world, just not the narratives.
I loved every minute of this movie and even though it has its shortcomings when it comes to narrative, it is a joy to watch.
Critical Consensus: 7/10
High Factor 8/10
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