December 31, 2010 (Sampurn Wire): Film: Gullivers Travels
Director: Rob Letterman
Cast: Jack Black, Amanda Peet, Jason Segel, Billy Connolly, Chris O'Dowd, Emily Blunt
Rating: **
This is perhaps the worst silver screen edition of the 18th century novel written by Jonathan Swift. Jack Black, who plays Lemuel Gulliver in the Friday release, disappoints throughout. The actor may have given Hollywood some wonderful performances in films like Kung Fu Panda and King Kong, but Jack Black tends to forget that not all stories want him to play a geek! For that matter, the humor in the 2010 version of Gullivers Travels also fails to impress.
Lemuel Gulliver here is a mailroom worker who is very much in love with Darcy Silverman, a newspaper travel editor. To express his love, Gulliver sets upon a travel from where he will return to pen his own experiences. Lemuel Gulliver sets upon a journey to the Bermuda Triangle and accidentally reaches the land of Lilliputs when his ship wrecks. It is here that Lemuel Gulliver starts enjoying the taste of being a true hero when the Lilliputs shower the towering man with love and respect.
The Lilliput kingdom considers Gulliver, the savior of their little world. Will he emerge as the real hero that he brags to be or will Lemuel Gulliver fall short of the Lilliputs expectations? Gullivers Travels shows some high class drama, comedy, fantasy and even love, but still fails to draw the attention of the audience. Running for a duration of only 95 minutes, Gullivers Travels may force you to leave the theater halfway into the film!
--Sampurn Wire