Kenneth Branagh has made some excellent movies but this is far from one of them. I won't even get into the unfortunate casting of accused weirdo Armie Hammer, since he hasn't been convicted of anything. Yet. He never could act worth a squat and he's very smug, not to mention a bit feminine for a ladies man, and that's unrelated to his alleged abusive sexual proclivities. I doubt we'll be seeing this clown in any more bad movies like this (he's never been in a good one) but that's no great loss.
The main problem with this movie is the overall cheesy flavor, and I don't mean that literally. It's like a high school production with a larger budget. The casting of the other characters is very poorly done and fashionably inclusive, and the special effects are surprisingly TERRIBLE! The obvious green screen scenes, and there are a lot, are terribly unrealistic. As are all the CGI animals, like a flying bird and a crocodile that look less realistic than Wile E. Coyote, and a silly striking snake that looks so ridiculous I had to laugh out loud. And never mind all the anachronisms and other nonsense - though I am wondering how a musician can walk the length of a large dance hall while singing and playing a yet-to-be-invented electric guitar without everybody getting tangled up in the electrical cords that magically didn't seem to trail behind her. Maybe we are to assume BlueTooth was around prior to the Second World War? And how can we be expected to believe that people performed erotic, dirty-dancing moves, including simulated sex acts, in the 1930s? Ironically, that bit involved Armie Hammer, but at least he didn't try to tie up and beat on his dirty-dancing partner. Didn't try to eat any part of her, either. Poor Armie. He's tall, some people think he's handsome, if a bit nerdy and frail, he was obscenely wealthy before becoming a famous actor, but he'll never be taken seriously again - as if he ever was.
The main problem with this movie is the overall cheesy flavor, and I don't mean that literally. It's like a high school production with a larger budget. The casting of the other characters is very poorly done and fashionably inclusive, and the special effects are surprisingly TERRIBLE! The obvious green screen scenes, and there are a lot, are terribly unrealistic. As are all the CGI animals, like a flying bird and a crocodile that look less realistic than Wile E. Coyote, and a silly striking snake that looks so ridiculous I had to laugh out loud. And never mind all the anachronisms and other nonsense - though I am wondering how a musician can walk the length of a large dance hall while singing and playing a yet-to-be-invented electric guitar without everybody getting tangled up in the electrical cords that magically didn't seem to trail behind her. Maybe we are to assume BlueTooth was around prior to the Second World War? And how can we be expected to believe that people performed erotic, dirty-dancing moves, including simulated sex acts, in the 1930s? Ironically, that bit involved Armie Hammer, but at least he didn't try to tie up and beat on his dirty-dancing partner. Didn't try to eat any part of her, either. Poor Armie. He's tall, some people think he's handsome, if a bit nerdy and frail, he was obscenely wealthy before becoming a famous actor, but he'll never be taken seriously again - as if he ever was.