*MAJOR SPOILERS*
I saw The Nutcracker and the Four Realms over the weekend and I didn’t plan on reviewing, but apparently I have some thoughts. I’ve never been the biggest fan the The Nutcracker story. It never fully interested me when I was younger. And I think I’ve seen a ballet years ago and the Barbie movie. So, I wasn’t as excited for this live action remake as I am for others. But, my sister wanted to see it and I thought I would go for fun.
I mostly went for Mackenzie Foy. I love her so much. She’s actually 17 (WOOO for actual teenagers playing teenagers) and I just think she’s the sweetest person. I thought she made a fantastic Clara. It’s just too bad everything else wasn’t up to par.
This movie tried to take on a new play on the Nutcracker story without fully leaning into it. It didn’t flesh out the world enough and made it very forgettable. This new version wasn’t groundbreaking or a nice new twist on a classic story. It was just an attempt that was good. I would like liked to see more of the world, learn more backstory, and really lean into this new telling.
The plot and story also fell really flat for. The supposed good guy is actually the bad guy and the bad guy is the good is just kind of tired. And it wasn’t foreshadowed in an interesting enough way for it to be a big shock. I kind of would have liked the flower guy to be the villain and have the other people be under his control. Use thorns as a way for foreshadowing and couple cool lines.
For a movie about the Nutcracker, he certainly wasn’t in it a lot. I practically feel like he was a side character. His relationship with Clara felt like an afterthought and wasn’t developed nearly enough. It felt like a cheap grab to keep people interested. It could have been really good with the right development. I was really looking forward to the Nutcrackers character and I feel like I barley got to see him.
Clara’s character arc also wasn’t used to its full potential. I would have really liked for her journey to be more of a focal point of the story. For the fact of her finding her inner strength to really be a shining theme. Yet, it was just used as what feels like an afterthought and gives major *shrug* vibes.
I did enjoy some parts. The Nutcracker music placed at certain points was a nice touch and I adored Clara’s solider dress. I also liked Clara’s character, despite the lack of solid development.
I think what makes this movie really grate is that it has so much potential in it. It really could have been a fantastic movie with what is already there, but it just wasn’t organized in the right way. The dialogue was cheesy, the plot felt like something overdone, and the messages weren’t fully displayed. It just frustrates me that this could have had a fantastic love story, amazing world, an amazing character arc for Clara, a showcase for female strength and smarts, a well developed world, and amazing messages. And yet it just feels cheap and done something that was done quickly.
Thank you for reading!
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