Oct 1, 2023
The Deer King is not like Princess Mononoke. It is not trying to be. It is not about the same things as Princess Mononoke. This movie has a character that rides a deer and there are wolves, but that does not make it the same. Don't let all the media-illiterate reviews drawing parallels between this movie and Princess Mononoke/Studio Ghibli movies bias your attempt to understand The Deer King. Trying to view it through that lens will just decrease your ability to understand it.
Pro:
Visually, this movie looks very good.
There is some interesting world building and a decent story.
Con:
The most glaring issue is that this is
...
a series of novels packed into a single less-than-2-hour movie. The pacing makes a valiant effort and they tried to write the screenplay to get as much in there as they could, but it leaves a lot of the character development feeling skeletal. It also makes following the political backstory difficult. As a result the movie is a bit hollow and muddled.
A lot of characters suffer from the Studio IG "always on tranqs" problem. If you aren't familiar, IG often struggles to show emotion in the face and body language of its characters when it uses this “serious” art style. Your mileage may vary on how much it bothers you personally, but it probably contributes to why people struggle to connect with this movie.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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