Seen on: November 2, 2009

The players: Director: Robert Zemeckis, Writer: Robert Zemeckis, Cast: Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Bob Hoskins, Colin Firth, Robin Wright Penn

Facts of interest: Based on the story by Charles Dickens, obviously.

The plot: The classic tale is back on the big screen, and Scrooge is still hating Christmas, until three spirits pay him an important visit...

Our thoughts: Charles Dickens’ beloved holiday story “A Christmas Carol” gets the 3D treatment, and the result is a visually stunning big-screen experience I’m sure many cinemagoers out there will enjoy to the fullest extent. As far as I’m concerned, my feelings about this one are mixed.

The story doesn’t really require a lengthy introduction. The holiday season is in full swing, and Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey) despises Christmas and everyone celebrating it. Then he’s visited by three ghosts who take him on an emotional journey, and before you know it, his meanness is gone for good.

Now, let me start with the good stuff. Visually, Zemeckis’ “A Christmas Carol” is his best motion-capture project yet, and I admit the film’s engaging look totally blew me away. Gorgeous animation fills up the screen from start to finish, and the 3D effect works marvelously as well. From a technical point of view, this one delivers for sure.

Carrey’s performance worked perfectly for me as well, and his great voice work really brings the many characters he portrays to life. Most of the figures’ facial expressions and gestures still looked a little too stiff for me to grow emotionally attached to them, but that’s not a big issue here.

What I did enjoy about the movie other than its visual aspects is the dark feel it has to it. Zemeckis’ version of the classic tale is definitely too scary and somber for the very young cinemagoers out there, but for me, it added some extra spice to the whole thing. I mean, after all, there’s absolutely nothing new about the story.

Other than that, I felt the film dragged at times, even though Zemeckis doesn’t waste much time once Scrooge embarks on his adventure with the ghosts. The segment with the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come was my favorite, particularly because I loved the scary look of the ghost itself and the dramatic tension it brought along.

The fact that the story is one everybody out there is familiar with can make it hard for a filmmaker to still wow his audience without completely reimagining it, but Zemeckis definitely created an action-packed version of Dickens’ famous story. The film looks great and all, but in my opinion, it still lacks emotion.

Freaky quote: "Haunt me no longer!" - Jim Carrey

The final word: Zemeckis could’ve cut some repetitive moments from the film (Scrooge just spends too much time flying around the screen), but all in all, his 3D motion-capture version of “A Christmas Carol” kept me interested throughout. It’s not a film I would necessarily revisit, but it’s certainly a fun one-time viewing experience.

Article by Franck Tabouring