Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

If they had worked on the script as much as the magical, detailed set design, it would have been awesome. The expressive, distinctive sets are great, the fusion of old Victorian elements with the achievements of modern civilization is unique, and all I can say about Carrey's performance is that I haven't had so much fun watching an actor overact with gusto in a long time. But the whole thing is emotionally empty, you neither laugh, nor get moved, nor get scared, and the story is based on a simple plot and a stereotypical change of four locations. But I'm quite curious about a possible sequel. (20/06/2005)

I have not read the book and honestly, I do not even want to familiarize myself with it after watching Silberling's film. The film had an exclusive cast with a whole pleiad of well-known Hollywood names. It also had a magnificent production with a variety of special effects and a scene that indicates that the crew did not have to make any compromises regarding the budget. However, from my point of view, the result is very poor and my one star is only for the set design, which sometimes does its own thing regardless of the plot. The Victorian gloom of the film sets and costumes is more effective than the grimaces of the main villain played by Jim Carrey. I have no problem with his performance, he is simply an actor who adapts to the requirements of the script and the director, but the level of stylized exaggeration was dysfunctional and unbearable for me. Even a three-year-old child would realize in his uncle Olaf's disgusting grimace and vocabulary after three-tenths of a second that something is not right, and here all the adults pretend to believe even his least probable charity. It's simply too overexposed and for me, it would work if at least half of the actor's performance was toned down. I haven't even mentioned ingredients such as the youngest member of the Baudelaire family, that typical American innocent angel type, who already disgusts me with the first smile and whom I would dispatch without hesitation. Overall impression: 25%. (03/01/2011)

Like the more recent film adaptation The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events suffers from a fairly similar problem, which is a fairly strong connection to the book. Whatever Lemony Snicket wrote and how he wanted, it is certain that this "revival of letters" will be enjoyed more by readers who are likely more familiar with the characters and, above all, the plot. The story, which seems to have been quite insensitively trimmed, unfolds at a fast pace, and yet while perceiving it, I occasionally had to bridge quite a few "gaps" with my own imagination. However, the overall audiovisual form should not be dismissed, as the artists truly indulged themselves, especially with the Victorian buildings, in a somewhat decadently unfolding directorial approach (likely inspired by the book since the main characters are named the Baudelaires). Behind them, the visual effects team prepared a very lavish set design that seems to be straight out of The Addams Family. With Barry Sonnenfeld as the executive producer, it all makes sense. And the actors themselves are certainly not to be condemned, especially the trio of young Baudelaires, of whom little Sunny is absolutely perfect. Of course, Jim Carrey, with his mastery of facial expressions and physicality, once again managed to win the audience over to his side. Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events is a pleasant watch, but the lack of a logically unfolding storyline is detrimental. (17/08/2005)

If this story was overall a little more developed and didn't have a conclusion that unnecessarily tries to evoke emotions that simply aren't there, it would be an extremely successful film. It has its own poetry, its own charm, and is incredibly entertaining thanks to Carrey, who showcases himself as a great chameleon, but that is well known about him. Pleasant, but it still lacks a little something extra to make it perfect. (26/03/2015)

I read the book, but it was a really long time ago and I didn't realize its connection to this film until it was in progress. Lemony Snicket noticeably tries to adapt the book as faithfully as possible, which is certainly not a bad thing. What’s important is that Brad Siberling has conceived a very simple story about a cunning bastard as a fresh, entertaining and all-around fairy-tale spectacle that fulfils everything I would expect from a purely children's film. First of all, the sensibly chosen runtime (the film is only 92 minutes long!) is worth praise, as well as the beautiful make-up and costumes and, of course, the actors, led by a made-up Jim Carrey and an anxious Meryl Streep. As a small child I would certainly have jumped in joy, now I just hummed along contentedly... (06/06/2012)