Hugo: Review By MutantFairy

It's a movie about a young boy & his automaton. But it isn't really. It's mostly about Hugo & the automaton but it's really about a big secret. the movie takes it's time getting to the big secret & luckily the movie is interesting enough that you aren't really in a hurry to get there & you don't mind the switch so much.

Without spoiling the big secret, the boy is searching for a connection to his father & although there are some fantastical elements in the movie (like the clockwork/steampunk devices that are all around), it is mostly reality based & the big secret that the boy finds along the way is really just a big coincidence but it's so well-done & so interesting that it doesn't matter & ultimately what he finds isn't what he was looking for but it's a suitable substitute, maybe even better.

Other than the coincidental big reveal, most of the minor sub-plots are very predictable which is fine because it's a family movie & they shouldn't distract from Hugo & his story. Hugo spends a lot of time not speaking which I thought was really effective in conveying emotion. I was very glad to learn that most of the facts about the big secret actually took place in real life. It's filmed in 3D & has lots of zooms & sometimes dizzying camera-work to take advantage of the effect so seeing it in 3D is worth the money.