If only Disney could have figured out a way to include Avengers characters in the “Nutcracker.”
Alas, after a summer of hit-after-hit from the comic book side, the Mouse House now braces for a huge disaster with “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms.”
Reviews are embargoed until Halloween night, less than 24 hours before preview audiences will see the much beleaguered movie.
Cost of “Four Realms” is minimum $130 million but probably in the realm of $200 million. Original director Lasse Hallstrom must have been in over his head. He’s such a good director but perhaps this was too much. He was replaced, some of the film was re-shot, and now it carries two director’s names. (The other one is Joe Johnston.)
Despite having Helen Mirren and Morgan Freeman, “Four Realms” is evidently overpowered by no focus and too much pocus. One sign that it’s very bad– aside from no reviews– is that it’s been cut down to 99 minutes. Sometimes we say, This movie was too long. In this case, it’s the opposite. “FOur Realms” has obviously been shredded.
Disney has trouble with this kind of movie. “A Wrinkle in Time” was only released last March– and flopped famously. This is a second wrinkle. They need to iron this stuff out.
Ah, well: next year, bring us “The Nutcracker: Iron Man and Captain America” dance it out, and then we’ll be onto something!
