A film adaption of the Artemis Fowl books was released exclusively on Disney Plus on June 12. The movie is visually stimulating and a fun watch but suffers when trying to introduce character development within its limited runtime. Photo fair use of CNet.com
The new adventure movie “Artemis Fowl,” released on Disney Plus on June 12, covers the adventures of boy genius Artemis Fowl. Although visually stimulating, the film suffers from pacing issues when dealing with character development.
“Artemis Fowl” is a film adaption of the young adult book series “Artemis Fowl” and was released exclusively to the Disney Plus streaming platform on June 12. It chronicles the adventures of 12-year-old genius Artemis Fowl Jr. (Ferdia Shaw) and his associates as they search for his missing father. Along the way, he discovers, conflicts with and finds friendship with various creatures from Irish folklore, such as fairies and dwarves.
With a runtime of 95 minutes, the film is an entertaining and lighthearted watch, with many lively and colorful vistas. The movie rarely takes itself seriously, which is to its benefit. The viewer will rarely be bored, as the movie progresses through its plot rather quickly.
Although its quick pacing yields an entertaining spectacle, it comes at the price of lackluster character and plot development. Several characters act as if they have known each other for weeks after having met only minutes earlier, and many characters’ motivations make little to no sense. “Artemis Fowl” would have greatly benefitted from a little more time spent fleshing out its characters.
In addition to its pacing issues, “Artemis Fowl” feels more like a pitch for a future series of movies than a movie made with the intention of being self-standing; much of the last quarter of the film only serves to set up future plot development. This setup for a hypothetical sequel comes at the expense of the actual movie’s plot.
With a PG rating and focus on spectacle over character depth, the film is targeted towards younger audiences. However, the overlap between those who enjoy young adult literature and those that eschew depth for spectacle may be fairly thin.
Ultimately, “Artemis Fowl” will give viewers an entertaining and lighthearted adventure, but it will also leave them wishing they had gotten to know the characters a bit better.
