Shierra C. Styver

Just watched this movie on Rewind for the first time in YEARS since it came out (well, watched it in the theatre maybe in '09), and it's still brilliant. Ofelia is such a stunning and beautiful young girl who's been thrown into this crazy world of civil war, complicated family situation, creepy and haunting outdoor life, and yet full of wonder and magic. She's fortunate in the sense that while she's discovered this mysterious labyrinth in order to escape the cruel reality, she's also discovered a friend and confidant in Mercedes, who's working alongside Ofelia's Hitler-like stepfather, Capitan Vidal. She's unfortunate to find herself in dark situations and places, which is why it becomes a need in a child's mind to drift into fairy tales and magic. This film never fails to deliver great dialogue, cinematography, concept, plot, and character exploration. Worth watching again and again to look out for clues, patterns, and how every scene connects to the development of the story. You can see how much work Guillermo del Toro has put into making this film. Highly recommend this.

After watching this film, I've come to realise that from now on, I will never expect anything more from a Disney remake. No more. This one takes the cake. If you enjoyed the original animated film, please, just watch that one and NEVER bother with this. It's not worth your time and money. The entire movie was very disappointing.