Movie Review: Artemis Fowl

This was movie #13/20 (#27 overall) that I watched for my 20 for 2020 challenge. This was released on Disney+ on June 12, 2020. This was intended to be released in theaters, so I will be categorizing this as a theatrical release in my next quarter breakdown.

I thought this movie was okay. I don’t think it was as bad as I was expecting it to be. I think my biggest criticism of the movie is that I found it to be a little boring. I think the plot felt pretty non-existent. It felt like this movie was all exposition and getting to know the world and characters. I didn’t read the books so I don’t know how this works out in comparison to the books, but it feels like this movie was just the first quarter or half of the first book. It's kind of weird that most of the movie all occurs in the same place (the Fowl mansion). They don’t really do much either. They just hide something and have a battle outside the house. I’m trying to leave it vague in case you haven’t watched the movie. There were also a lot of things that didn’t make any sense to me and were confusing. We don’t even interact with (who I assume to be) the main villain. It's mostly just the two good groups fighting each other the whole time.

I did like some of the sets and scenery but I think the CGI and visuals are going to age really poorly. The use of CGI is just so heavy (which is, of course, necessary for this stylized mythical fantasy world) but I just feel like it will look dated very soon. I also think that there were some weird editing choices. There wasn’t consistency within scenes. There were multiple instances where the characters would be in the middle of a conversation and then abruptly they would be in a different room doing something completely different but still continuing on with the same conversation. It was weird. There were also some weird slow motion, slow frame rate editing choices that already looked extremely dated and out of place.

My dislike for this movie may just be due to my personal preferences. This movie took place in two places--the Fowl mansion and the fairy headquarters--which led to the movie feeling static. I prefer for there to be some kind of journey. As a fantasy element, I’m not really interested in fairies. I don’t mind them, but I’m not drawn to them. I also think I’m more drawn to rags to riches, chosen-one kind of stories (like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson). I don’t really root for Artemis Fowl, a rich kid know-it-all who already has everything in life. I would be more likely to root for an average, nobody type of kid, someone who has been through hardship, who discovers this power within them and then has to save the world.

I liked Josh Gad. I didn’t know he was in this movie. There were a few really funny moments, mostly due to some of his lines. I know some people had some criticism of the actor that played Artemis Fowl, but I didn’t have any complaints about him. As a character, I didn’t really like him. He’s a stuck up, know-it-all, rich kid. But that doesn’t have anything to do with the actor. I feel like he wasn’t even really in the movie that much. I thought the rest of the cast was fine as well.

I wouldn’t really recommend this movie. There are much better fantasy movies and series to watch instead. I would give this a 4/10. Have you watched this movie? Be sure to let me know your thoughts down below.