Here's what reviews are saying about Disney's Artemis Fowl movie. After a troubled production and lengthy delays, Artemis Fowl's release is a cause for celebration on its own, with a live-action adaptation of Eoin Colfer's young criminal mastermind in the pipeline for almost 20 years. Even after Disney picked up the property, however, Artemis Fowl's journey to screens would not be smooth. Artemis Fowl was one of the movies caught up in the Weinstein fallout and would later be one of the cinematic victims of the coronavirus pandemic, moved out of theaters and onto the Disney+ streaming service. This final move was interpreted by some as Disney's belief that Artemis Fowl would not perform well at the box office.
Concerns that Artemis Fowl's bumpy production and ever-moving release date were omens of a less-than-spectacular film looked to be justified when the first trailer was released. Online reaction, particularly from fans of Colfer's original books, was highly critical of the Artemis Fowl trailer, with much of the negativity based around Fowl's character morphing from the child criminal of the books into some kind of supernatural superhero. Fans argued that such a major change fundamentally altered the spirit of Artemis Fowl, but could the finished film prove the doubters wrong? According to initial reviews, no.
Artemis Fowl reviews have been mostly negative so far. As with the trailer, source material liberties play a large part in this, with the Artemis Fowl movie accused of heavily diluting the original story and its lead character in a misguided attempt to court mainstream appeal. Even worse, reviewers are in agreement that Artemis Fowl probably won't prove enjoyable for franchise newcomers either. The Kenneth Branagh effort lacks the depth required to draw in the audience, instead prioritizing not-so-special effects and fast-paced action.
Beyond fidelity to the source material or relevance to the time in which it is released, Artemis Fowl fails on a fundamental level of “Is this movie fun?” and “Do I want to spend any more time with these characters?”
The real problem here is that the script, based on the first two books, shows signs of having been cut to ribbons and woven back together. Newcomer Shaw’s Artemis seems virtually immobile for much of the running time, communicating less cunning and more a sense that he’s not sure what to do.
The film jumps between characters and stories with little reason, making it impossible to thread together how any of this fits together.
How could Branagh — whose projects remain so firmly grounded in character, no matter their scale — have lost sight of the fact that a movie named “Artemis Fowl” should have focused on making the character someone audiences wanted to be around?
The Disney version of Artemis Fowl covers everything in a blanket of bland that suggests the dull juvenilia in the film versions of Percy Jackson and The Golden Compass rather than the vigorous battle between good and evil that marked the novels.
Between those who loved the books, those who hated them, and those that didn't know they existed until today, there's little love to be found for Artemis Fowl's first (and probably only) adventure on the big screen, and a lot of critics cite the elongated and messy production as a potential cause. The script in particular takes a beating for feeling devoid of meaning and padded with heavy exposition - no surprise considering how many rewrites it must've gone through over years of development. Many reviews also field comparisons to other failed YA properties, accusing Artemis Fowl of falling victim to the same pitfalls as Percy Jackson and other forgotten Harry Potter pretenders. Fortunately, there are a couple of redeeming features - one or two attractive set pieces, decent gags and strong performances from the likes of Josh Gad.
Dench has one or two moderately funny lines and there is an amusing setpiece when the fairies impose a kind of mass-hypnotic time-freeze... only McDonnell and Gad’s performances have any fizz.
There are some highlights. Judi Dench as fairy commander Root, essays a largely solid Irish accent, Gad gets a good joke about gluten, and Nonso Anozie is a cool henchman.
Sometimes, a troubled film production can burst out of the gates and take the world by surprise. World War Z and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story are two recent examples of defying the odds. Artemis Fowl is clearly not one of those films. The signs were there when Disney pushed back the release date and then ousted Artemis onto streaming, and you get the sense that Disney might've been tempted to do so even before the pandemic came along. While Artemis Fowl's future is currently unknown, the strongly negative critical reaction makes a sequel unlikely, even if the film itself paves the way for more misadventures.
