Really loved the first part of "The Reptile Room". It built upon what "The Bad Beginning" did well, and that two parter did a lot well, and made those strengths even better and improved upon mostly what didn't quite work (the pace and dialogue have already improved). While building as well upon the tension and mystery that would continue throughout the whole 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' series.
The second part of "The Reptile Room" continues the improvement and has even more tension and mystery, with it being quite a bit darker than the first part. Got the real sense of the first part that 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' was beginning to hit its stride and there is that sense in the second part too, the source material itself in my mind playing a bit part in this. Uncle Monty's presence is missed as the character did prove to be one of "The Reptile Room: Part 1's" biggest pleasures, but that is not a major problem at all (in fact it's not a problem at all, read the source material if you haven't already and you'll see why).
Although his "goodness golly..." exclamation was amusing, namely because of what it references, Mr Poe somehow doesn't do it for me in this series and don't think the character or interpretation blended particularly well, a big problem as the series in general significantly expanded him . Also the character's coughing continues to be overdone and although other episodes did worse at making him even more hopelessly inept than the books there is still that element here. Personal opinion of course.
Once again, "The Reptile Room: Part 2" is a wonder visually. The wonderful opening credit sequence is indicative enough of that, but the standout is that utterly amazing reptile room, the design and incredible attention to detail are a sight to behold. And the creatures/reptiles themselves are like characters of their own (have sort of a thing for that it seems). The music is also a good match for the atmosphere.
In comparison to "The Bad Beginning", the dialogue here is quite a lot better. There is some nice humour in parts and there is more of an air of mystery and tension, a good thing as the tension generally did start to build in the book series in 'The Reptile Room' as the series got darker and the mysteries deepened. Lemony Snicket's narration here features more, but appropriately so as the second part is quite a lot darker.
The increasing menace that was there in the second half of "The Reptile Room: Part 1" continues and actually there is even more of it now that the story has taken a darker turn. Love the character writing, Count Olaf is such a fun and sinister villain, the Baudelaire orphans are becoming more fleshed out and their skills proving more useful each time and the theatrical troupe are more sinister this time, not as much over-acting. There have been criticisms of the show overall criticising the adult/guardian characters as stupid and easily fooled, that is not the fault of the show at all but it is an ongoing theme in the book series.
Neil Patrick Harris continues to steal the show, one wouldn't think on paper he would work but he does. He has a real ball yet he is a threat here too, it is with "The Reptile Room", both parts but especially the second part, where his talents are showcased more and where his versatility starts to shine (something needed for the character of Olaf throughout the series). Malina Weissman and Louis Hynes continue to grow, Weissman showing Violet's resourcefulness very believably. Sunny's role towards the end shows some genuine suspense. Patrick Warburton has proven to be a very ideal choice for Snicket.
Overall, great. 9/10
The second part of "The Reptile Room" continues the improvement and has even more tension and mystery, with it being quite a bit darker than the first part. Got the real sense of the first part that 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' was beginning to hit its stride and there is that sense in the second part too, the source material itself in my mind playing a bit part in this. Uncle Monty's presence is missed as the character did prove to be one of "The Reptile Room: Part 1's" biggest pleasures, but that is not a major problem at all (in fact it's not a problem at all, read the source material if you haven't already and you'll see why).
Although his "goodness golly..." exclamation was amusing, namely because of what it references, Mr Poe somehow doesn't do it for me in this series and don't think the character or interpretation blended particularly well, a big problem as the series in general significantly expanded him . Also the character's coughing continues to be overdone and although other episodes did worse at making him even more hopelessly inept than the books there is still that element here. Personal opinion of course.
Once again, "The Reptile Room: Part 2" is a wonder visually. The wonderful opening credit sequence is indicative enough of that, but the standout is that utterly amazing reptile room, the design and incredible attention to detail are a sight to behold. And the creatures/reptiles themselves are like characters of their own (have sort of a thing for that it seems). The music is also a good match for the atmosphere.
In comparison to "The Bad Beginning", the dialogue here is quite a lot better. There is some nice humour in parts and there is more of an air of mystery and tension, a good thing as the tension generally did start to build in the book series in 'The Reptile Room' as the series got darker and the mysteries deepened. Lemony Snicket's narration here features more, but appropriately so as the second part is quite a lot darker.
The increasing menace that was there in the second half of "The Reptile Room: Part 1" continues and actually there is even more of it now that the story has taken a darker turn. Love the character writing, Count Olaf is such a fun and sinister villain, the Baudelaire orphans are becoming more fleshed out and their skills proving more useful each time and the theatrical troupe are more sinister this time, not as much over-acting. There have been criticisms of the show overall criticising the adult/guardian characters as stupid and easily fooled, that is not the fault of the show at all but it is an ongoing theme in the book series.
Neil Patrick Harris continues to steal the show, one wouldn't think on paper he would work but he does. He has a real ball yet he is a threat here too, it is with "The Reptile Room", both parts but especially the second part, where his talents are showcased more and where his versatility starts to shine (something needed for the character of Olaf throughout the series). Malina Weissman and Louis Hynes continue to grow, Weissman showing Violet's resourcefulness very believably. Sunny's role towards the end shows some genuine suspense. Patrick Warburton has proven to be a very ideal choice for Snicket.
Overall, great. 9/10
