Synopsis: Travel writer Lemuel Gulliver (Jack Black) takes an assignment in Bermuda, but ends up on the island of Liliput, where he towers over its tiny citizens.I like Jack Black. I used to love him, back in the Tenacious D days, but now in all his acting roles I find he's funny but can't really carry a movie and frankly gets a bit annoying by the time it's over. And we all know the story of "Gulliver's Travels" so I had a pretty good idea what to expect going into this and had low expectations, which is what you'll need to really enjoy this.
This has a few twists from the story you know and it's really not that faithful to it, but the main path is still the same. But don't dwell on that and there are some pretty comical and entertaining moments. Not enough to carry it to higher expectations but it's still OK. A lot of scenes parody everything from The Empire Strikes Back, Titantic, and my favorite rockers KISS and are pretty funny and creative. Some of the gadgets and projects the little people build are sort of fun and inventive too.
Jack Black wears thin, but supporting players Emily Blunt, Jason Segel, and occasionally sexy Amanda Peet provide their moments. But again, this is all about Gulliver.
If you'd never heard of Gulliver or his travels you might wonder what was so classic about the book and stories after watching this, but maybe you'd enjoy this movie more. If there was less Jack Black maybe I'd have enjoyed it more. If King Kong was in it, maybe I'd have enjoyed it more (actually, that's a definite). As it stands it's just OK and worth a watch, but certainly no classic.
5.5/10
