This move opened almost (gasp) three weeks ago and has pretty much died on impact ever since. However, I sat through it so I think a post-mortem is only fair.
What It Does Right: There’s just something about the circus that brings out the inner magic in all of us (even if movies about the circus seldom get this right). Christoph Waltz is pretty good as the villain. He all but owns the movie since its two leads (Reese Witherspoon and especially Rob Pattinson) don’t really show up.
What it Does Wrong: There’s an innate sleepiness the movie can’t shake even in scenes of violence it feels like it’s sleep walking. And the “Villain” is actually the good guy, the bad guy, the in-between guy, hell, everything since the hero doesn’t show up in this movie. This is yet another example that Rob Pattinson isn’t so much an actor as a James Dean impersonator who specializes in looking anguished but not in acting like a human being.
What I Would Have Done Differently: Not opened this movie in theaters, and instead sent it straight to DVD which is where it will find its true audience: women at home on a rainy day looking for something pleasant enough to watch.