Movie review: 'Gulliver's Travels'

The family-aimed film "Gulliver's Travels," now playing at the Fandango's Galaxy multiplex in Carson City, has very little to do with the book (or books) Johnathan Swift wrote in satire on the English government in the 18th century. Gone is the wit, the clever writing, the book that many of us read in high school or English Lit 103.

Of course, the producers of the film didn't have to worry about complaints from Swift, conveniently dead and in the public domain. Enough about literature. Let's look at the movie, which comes in 3D for no good reason other to jack up admission costs. As mentioned, this is a family movie, which means kids' humor abounds. OK for kids but drop them off and go to the Fandango for dinner or the slots.

Stars Jack Black (you know what to expect from him), Emily Blunt (pretty), Jason Segel, Billy Connolly, Catherine Tate and Amanda Peet (as always, she's better than the film is).

Lemuel Gulliver (Black) is stuck in the mail room of a New York newspaper and hankers to date travel editor Darcy (Peet); he takes a new guy around and on the new guy's first day, finds out the new guy is now his boss. Gulliver cribs info to write a travel piece, which Darcy admires so much she sends him on a travel story to the Bermuda Triangle of myth. (Utterly ridiculous; no travel editor would dare do so.)

Gull's boat is sunk (great storm scenes here) and washes Gull up on the shore of Lilliput, where the little people (that BP oil leak guy who talked about the little people would have fit right in here) tie Gull up and call him a monster.

OK, now time for the kids' humor. When fire strikes the king's castle Gull goes to the rescue, drops his pants and pees on the fire and the king and the bad guy General Edward (Chris O'Dowd). Lots of humor here. Well, sort of.

Gull meets another prisoner Horatio (Jason Segel) jailed by General Edward because he fancies Princess Mary of Lilliput (Blunt), natch Edward wants her. Gulliver is declared a hero by Lilliput's citizens, but Darcy says she must do the Bermuda story now and is done with Gull. Edward shuts down the defenses protecting Lilliput. Gulliver defeats the neighboring armada, invulnerable to the cannonballs being fired at him.

Edward quits the Lilliputian army, joining the enemy. Using a powerful and gigantic robot from Gulliver's sci-fi magazines that they (who? this is supposed to be an 18th century village, huh?) secretly built. In a duel with Edward, Gulliver ultimately defeats him with the help of Horatio. Horatio is hailed a hero and gets King Benjamin's permission to court the princess. Edward, goes nuts, threatens to kill the princess, but she, finally having enough of Edward, socks him in frustration. Gulliver makes peace between all by reciting Edwin Starr's "War" and he, along with Darcy, return to New York.

This is a 3D movie as mentioned; why only the makers know as the 3D is mostly flat.

Black does his usual humor and the rest of the cast acts like they believed it all. You've got to admire their courage.

But what does the lousy script and the so-so technical stuff matter to kids? They'll love it and that means a couple of hours of peace for parents, unless they're force to sit through it.

---Sam Bauman

Cast
Jack Black as Lemuel Gulliver
Emily Blunt as Princess Mary
Jason Segel as Horatio
Amanda Peet as Darcy Silver
T.J. Miller as Dan
Catherine Tate as Queen Isabelle
Billy Connolly as King Benjamin
James Corden as Prince Joseph
Chris O'Dowd as Edward
Romany Malco as Young Hank
Nikki Harrup as Jane
Danni Bennatar as Glumdaclitch
Olly Alexander as Prince August