2012
106 minutes
rated PG
by Scott Mendelson
The good news is that Tarsem Singh's Mirror Mirror is nowhere near as obnoxiously zany and aggressively annoying as the trailers seem to suggest. Frankly, the most eye-rolling moments of the marketing campaign aren't even in the movie, and I'd be hard-pressed to name more than a few pop-culture references over modern-anachronisms. And the film is surprisingly nonchalant about gender, presenting a heroine and female villain whose respective strengths and flaws have little to do with their gender. But the film is strangely immobile throughout, feeling less like a cinematic experience than an overlong stage-play with expensive costumes and occasionally well-constructed sets. Every scene goes on too long and every performer seems too tired to give it their all. When the first trailer dropped, I derisively compared its apparent tone to the live-action Cat in the Hat. As horrible as that film is, Mirror Mirror could have used some of its boundless energy.
