BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Senteur As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

BanditXander As a longtime fan of the original Broadway recording with Bernadette Peters, I was excited to see this as a large scale production. The sets are amazing and costuming is great and even the cast is well full of good talent. One of the things that makes a good musical great is all the work that goes into the harmonies and vocal work, especially in such a music heavy piece like this Sondheim creation. There is none of that here, voices are mostly electronically mixed and where there should be a swell of harmony, you find it seems 'lifeless' to put not to fine a point on it. The film is entertaining and fun even with the deviations to the original plot and themes, but lacks the emotional work and true emsemble work that really sets this particular musical experience apart from other stage and film pieces. See the original with Chip Zein, Bernadette, Joanna Gleeson etc. and then this version, and you may find yourself feeling the same way. Fun flick, better on stage with live talent.

merelyaninnuendo Into The WoodsA dark twisted version of Disney tales that blends in perfectly and kicks off deep emotion out of this multi starrer feature where each and every character factors in as essentially as the lead ones. Musical genre being Rob Marshall's comfort zone, shines majestically off screen where each and every musical sequences defines his keen observation and passion towards his work. James Corden and Anna Kendrick at the heart of it are quite aware of their work (just as they are in every musical number) and are supported thoroughly in major and minor parts by Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Chris Pine. Into The Woods has its first act plucked out from different tales and is smartly plotted by the writers before the second act kicks in and the twist comes in where everything goes unpredictable only to make it dull and predictable for the last act that is overlong.

Leofwine_draca I'd previously watched and love another adaptation of a Stephen Sondheim musical, SWEENEY TODD, so I had high hopes for this fairy tale-based follow-up. Sadly, INTO THE WOODS is a hopeless effort that stalls more often than it succeeds, and much of the failure lies in the poor choice of casting. When two of the leads in your movie are Emily Blunt and James Corden you know you're in trouble, as both are average singers at best and Corden remains an intensely irritating screen presence. Meryl Streep headlines the cast as a goofy witch but seems to be channeling her MAMMA MIA! role a bit too much. The rest of the film strives to mix up elements of various fairy stories including Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel, but the effect is slapdash and the story all over the place. Anna Kendrick is bland and her singing voice irritating, although not as much as the brash kid playing Red Riding Hood. Some of the CGI is okay but overall this is a huge missed opportunity for me.

Arnoud Meulendijks Those who understandably think this is a fantasy-horror movie are going to be disappointed and possibly very confused and disturbed. It's about dark psycho-social issues, or in other words : everyone's real life (=the woods) horror. Considering the analogy it's a clever idea to make this as a fantasy-horror movie, that's why i give it two points instead of one. But plenty of this in real life, don't want to go watch a movie for this. It's also spread on a bit too thick for my taste. B.t.w. the singing is part of the horror to ;).