Was anyone else disappointed by this film? I have been waiting since Pan's Labyrinth came out to see this movie and after reading all the positive reviews I guess I had extremely high hopes. I was not very impressed at all but I did like the way they made Santi look.
The Devils Backbone: 6/10
Eagle Eye: 7/10
Home Alone 4: 0/10
Well, I guess not since noone responded to your message, no just kidding. I was just reading the reviews, because I was thinking of watching it later in the evening. And seeing I loved all of Guillermo Del Toro's movies, Spanish ánd American (I just missed a few old ones), I will probebly love this one too. But thanks for your honoust opinion, if you really thought so, then it's even daring of you, seeing there are so many die hard fans out there, lol. But I had the same problem with The Orphanage, wich was a very good thriller, but next to Pan's Labyrinth, wich I saw first, it faded a little. I had very high hopes and it resulted in the same manor, but I still loved the movie, just not as much as I thought, the movie was totally different, but with some simularities, so maybe I expected it to be more like Pan's but when I got further into the movie, it grapped me anyway, but in a totally different way, also because it was a different kind of genre, Pan was more of a drama filled with fantasy and the Orphanage was more of a Supernatural thriller of wich there are more of and the story isn't original anymore, Pan however is very original.
But maybe you should watch it again, without anything on your brain, see if you like it better that way, but if you do, let me know how you did it, 'cause I have this problem too often, I always expect too much from a movie and now I'm not easily impressed, like with Pan's Labyrinth.
You posin' for pictures? Or you gonna pull the trigger? (Crime Story)
my buddy i watched it with had just recently watched the orphanage and loved it and just before watching this film he was telling me how all his friends said this was better than the orphanage and everything. but he ended up not liking this as much as the orphanage; actually he didnt like this at all. i did end up watching this one again and i did like it better than the first time i saw it, but definitely not as much as i thought i would compared to all the hype. pans labyrinth totally outdid a lot of movies ive seen and thats mainly why. i think i may have seen the orphanage, without going and looking it up before finishing this message, was it the one where there is a little boy who wanders into a cave and this monster looking kid who plays games where he makes people find things?
V for Vendetta: 8/10
Eagle Eye: 7/10
Home Alone 4: 0/10
Agreed
I watched it last night , I like Del Torros work so a bit like you I had high expectations
I thought the it was well acted , but I couldve ended up being a ghost like Santi because this movie nearly BORED me to death
Everytime someone said 'the one who sighs',I thought they were talking about me :D
And all will turn
To silver glass
A light on the water
Grey ships pass
Into the west
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I was not dissapointed in the least. I had seen "Pan's Labyrinth" first as well, but I didn't let it get my hopes up, because that is a silly thing to do. I cannot understand why people get their hopes up based on one film...
But no, I though "The Devil's Backbone" was magnificent... if I had to compare it to "Pan's Labyrinth", of course "Pan" was better. But this still was a great movie.
(I've seen all of del Toro's films from "Mimic" on, and he is the only director so far where I actually love every single one of his movies... There is no other director who has a perfect track record for me, but he does. I even liked "Mimic", which didn't turn out as he had wanted at all. I'm working on tracking down a copy of "Cronos" now.)
Based on 1 film? I used Pan, 'cause that was one of his best movies, but I certainly didn't base my "high hopes" on just one movie. I see you're familiour with Guillermo Del Toro's work, but so am I, after watching most of his work, you get an opinion about his work and therefor your hopes get rissen. Doesn't that make any sense to you, or do you still think it's silly. And if so, why are you watching more of his work if you didn't have a certain expectation? But if you don't have this problem, please tell me how you do it,'cause when I watch a movie from, let's say, Martin Scorsese, it's a gangster/cop movie, how can I not expect a certain quality,'cause I saw Goodfellas, Casino and all of his other work, how do I nót get my hopes up too high. If you figured that out, let me know how because it happens to me a lot, also if there's a lot of hype about the movie, like The Departed, wich was also in the race for a lot of oscars and had only great actors in it. I still loved the movie, don't get me wrong, but I still wasn't totally satisfied, like with a movie I know nothing about. Am I making any sense......
You posin' for pictures? Or you gonna pull the trigger? (Crime Story)
I didn't like this story as much as his other films. I didn't really get my hopes up either before watching this so they weren't crushed. It was just a boring movie with only a couple of cool elements. I thought it was cool how Santi looked and how the boys seemed like real boys and that Carlos wouldn't tell on the other boys. Also, I liked how the Dr.'s ghost came and opened the door for the boys. Other than that I couldn't care too much about the movie. I would say it is overrated.
shareYou seem to suggest that Del Toro only makes one kind of movie. Odd ghost movies. This is pretty far from the truth, as he's also Directed Blade 2 and wrote the screenplays for both Hellboy movies. And he will be working on The Hobbit.
Prof. Farnsworth: Oh. A lesson in not changing history from Mr. I'm-My-Own-Grandpa!
Yes, he did a lot of other movies and genres, he's one of the most versital directors I know, not to mention writer, producer and what not and he does it just as well in Spanish as he does in English/American. But most movies he made are horror, thriller and/ore fantasty, so it's not even that far from the truth, lol.....
You posin' for pictures? Or you gonna pull the trigger? (Crime Story)
What exactly disappointed you? Elaborate if you will.
Prof. Farnsworth: Oh. A lesson in not changing history from Mr. I'm-My-Own-Grandpa!
Are you serious, this overratted?
Although I do find it interesting how your expectations can really alter your movie going experience when it could have been totally the other way around otherwise.
I saw Mimic when it first came out and wasn't impressed, then I read they were making a sequel to Blade and I was wondering who that large man with glasses was doing directing Blade 2. I looked him up and apparently he came from a decent horror moviemaking background. I was pretty impressed with Blade 2, being a sequel and all.
Then came Hellboy, I was wondering how is this guy able to get the greenlight on a film called Hellboy. Well I came across an old trailer for a film called The Devil's Backbone, it looked intriguing, never got around to seeing it until I finally saw Hellboy.
I absolutely enjoyed Hellboy and it was a surprise to me. It was original and the film style had a unique flavor, Like Tim Burton mixed with Sam Raimi.
My stupid long story seems to be going no where, Anyways I had finally caught The Devil's Backbone playing on TV, I pretty much never watch TV, but I had to see at least the beginning before I go to bed. I was completely engaged with this movie that night, I stayed up to watch all the way to the end, went to work the next morning came back home and ordered it online.
I caught a glimpse of Del Toro's next foreign film Pan's Labyrinth. I thought it looked great and really imaginative, I wanted to see that too.
At this point I was a pretty big fan of Del Toro, his Pan's Labyrinth ended up winning some Academy Awards, and when I finally saw it, I was thinking this wasn't as good as The Devil's Backbone, I still found the movie to be friggin fantastic. But now that I've watched it another few times I can see why the critics liked it so much, it really is quite the film to behold.
So I can't really say which film was better, but I still consider The Devil's Backbone to be his original first great masterpeice. Guilermo Del Toro is one of those amazing geniuses that are walking the earth amongst us.
Sorry for the long post, I think what i was trying to say is that watching a movie once doesn't really impress upon you an idea of how good the movie really is.
The same thing happened with Quantom of Solace, I hated it in theaters then absolutely loved it on BluRay.
Anyways I think I have too much time to waste at work, which probably explains my long post about pretty much nothing. Sorry guys.
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consider me the opposite. I was waiting to see Pan's Labyrinth and was incredibly let down when i saw it.
I think The Devil's Backbone is much better than Pan's Labyrinth
I thought the Devil's Backbone was a really good movie, 8/10. I prefer Pan's Labyrinth, but I was pleasantly surprised by Backbone. It's suspenseful and creepy, but it's also very thoughtful.
shareEl Espinazo Del Diablo (a.k.a. The Devil's Backbone) was creepy until the major reveal came along way too early. After that, the movie just becomes a boring and predictable turd. Which is a shame since it did such a great job of creating a very eerie sense of foreboding and it left you with enough doubt as to the true nature of the events that were transpiring. Once you knew the truth, it required no effort to guess how it would all play out.
It would have been better if that reveal had been saved for the last ten minutes.
I think it's slightly overrated - I gave it a 7 because you can't do 6.5 stars! Excellent performances from all of the cast (especially Frederico Luppi), but the movie just seemed to drag a bit throughout. I watched this without much knowledge of Del Toro (I've only seen Chronos, Pan's Labyrinth and Blade 2) but I have to say this comes out bottom. I think it may deserve a second viewing soon, because there are so many metaphors and interpretations that I have discovered by reading this board that I might not have fully apreciated it. I'll watch it again and alter my store accordingly.
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