Don't get me wrong, Eddie Murphy is one of my favorite comedians, actors, and for what he did for the late, great Red Fox, makes Mr. Murphy rate in the top 100 finest human beings list, that I keep.
This movie did not do any justice to Eddie Murphy's skills as an actor. One bad movie can break a Hollywood career. Thank Creator, Mr. Murphy is an established artist because it is my opinion, if Mr. Murphy had not been an established artist, this movie would have tanked his career.
I give Mr. Murphy a 10 star for his performance. The acting, and I mean, for all the actors, the acting was not half bad. The narration completely annoyed me.
I give this movie three stars, not because I enjoyed the simple plot and non~mysterious story. I could've completely enjoyed this simple movie. The only redeeming qualities for this film, for me, is the costuming, the makeup, the set, and occasionally the lighting, oh, and the skills of the actors and actress'.
The director needs to either follow his instincts more or not follow his instincts at all. Perhaps, the director just needs more experience. Listening to the test audience feedback is crucial. What director doesn't want their film to be successful? The test audience is a large part of the film's success. I don't know who the test audience was or who chose the test audience for this movie, maybe that is where everything fell apart for this film. Here I am, trying to figure out why the film flopped. I do this only for the love of Eddie Murphy. Bottom line is, the film is a flop and the director needs to take some lessons in class or on the job training. I don't care which.
If the producers restricted the directors' instincts and desires for the movie's direction and final finishing touches, shame on the producers. Somewhere, something went horribly wrong and the final product was just a baaaad movie. It was as if it was directed and produced by children.
It wasn't even the simple storyline that bothered me. I am capable of enjoying a movie for its entertainment value alone and ignoring deep flaws. But the narrating, UGH!! The narration destroyed this movie for me.
I struggled sitting through this movie to the end. I kept waiting for some surprising monologue, scene, twist in the plot, and it never came. I felt totally cheated at the movie's end.
Mr. Murphy, you are a fine man and this terrible movie takes no amount of respect from me that I hold for you. I will continue to view your work.
I struggled to give this movie three stars. I enjoyed the children actors, great job boys, and girls. I enjoyed the costuming, the makeup, but the lighting seemed under-utilized. I will give the director once more chance as everyone makes mistakes in life. But we are talking about my hard-earned money here. We all know, movie viewing is no longer cheap. Only one chance though, that's it.
For what it's worth, it is my opinion, this movie is a box office BOMB! Terrible, just awful. This movie is as bad as my grammar. I do not recommend it at all.