Artemis Fowl Review

The devastating development that has burdened the film adaptation of Eoin Colfer's young adult fantasy novels Artemis Fowl is so apparent in the finished product that it's questionable why Disney ever decided to release the movie on its streaming service. Horrendous editing, terrible visual effects, and an unbelievably incohesive and uneventful plot give exceptionally little for even the young audiences that the film targets to get entertainment from. Some will feel for Josh Gad, who seems to be the only one of both cast or crew who puts any effort towards breathing some life into the movie. Anyone unfamiliar with the novels will gain nothing from this dreadful adaptation, while those who are fans of Colfer's work will question how everything went wrong.

The film follows protagonist Artemis Fowl, a young criminal prodigy and genius. When he finds out that his mysterious father is a legendary thief and has gone missing, Artemis learns that he must hunt down a secret society of fairies to have any chance of finding the whereabouts of his father.

Over a decade of various production and budget issues plagued Artemis Fowl when Miramax originally acquired the film rights. Eventually, handed off to Disney, nothing has seemed to change in its bizarre process of creation. Both the myriad of writers that have cycled through this project and the ambitiousness of fitting two books into one movie have resulted in a convoluted and boring narrative. Story elements that have no impact are focused on heavily, while essential components are often randomly brought up and never mentioned again. It's a frustrating story where things often happen with little to no explainable reason, with a visual presentation that is equally irritating.

Overall, Artemis Fowl is proof that streaming services are not always the best endgame for some films, even those who have target audiences with little expectations. The complete lack of intrigue, character development, or an overall sense of adventure results in one of the worst Disney produced films in recent memory.

An over-ambitious narrative and lackadaisical efforts from cast and crew make Artemis Fowl a complete waste of time.

Produced By: Disney
Runtime: 115 minutes
Rating: PG