1.4.23
I’ve been too busy enjoying Atlanta, Succession and The Vietnam War TV shows recently to enjoy many films, but like many others, I’ve found time to check out a standard Dreamworks picture tonight in preparation for its highly lauded, Spiderverse-style sequel. Enter Puss in Boots.
The Ginger Hit Man is surprisingly a really funny and watchable screen presence, voiced with conviction by Antonio Banderas. The first hour of the film runs at lightning pace and there’s some really enjoyable dance numbers, action scenes and double-entendre jokes for the adults in the room. The animation has aged well in its smoothness and rounded characters (in terms of their physical forms, not their personalities!).
The problem is, compared to the Shrek films and Pixar’s output, the characters here all feel a bit lightweight just like in the fairy tales, and I think more is required by today’s high standards to make them memorable. The opening scene suggesting that Puss is a chauvinistic lover is really well done in its balance of risque humour and taste, but many more scenes like this are needed to prevent it from being average. Plus the film is crying out for a proper villain (they got the beanstalk but no giant?!) and the betrayal twist is so telegraphed I think most kids would see it coming too.
So here I am, another tragic fully grown man giving an average review of an average film just to pregame for The Last Wish. Is this what Letterboxd has reduced us to?