Artemis Fowl

Starring: Ferdia Shaw, Josh Gad, Colin Farrell, Judi Dench, Lara McDonnell, Nonso Anozie, Tamara Smart

Director: Kenneth Branagh

Based on the novel "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer

After his father Artemis Fowl Sr. (Colin Farrell) goes missing, 12 year old genius Artemis Fowl (Ferdia Shaw) and the family butler Domovoi (Nonso Anozie) attempt to get to the bottom of his disappearance. After being contacted by the kidnapper, the mysterious Opal Koboi, Artemis is given three days to retrieve a device that his dad stole from the fairies called the Aculos. Meanwhile in Haven City, home of the fairies, Lower Elements Police reconnaissance (LEPrecon) officer Holly Short (Lara McDonnell) continues to defy orders and investigate her father's mysterious death which may be related to Artemis' dad. After she is captured by Artemis, her boss Commander Root (Judi Dench) along with giant dwarf Mulch Diggums (Josh Gad), attempt to rescue her as well as try to get back the stolen Aculos which she believes to be at Fowl Manor. Will the Aculos be found and will Artemis be able to rescue his dad?

Despite having not read the books this was based on, I can't help but be disappointed with how this turned out. The film was originally slated to come out last year and was pushed almost a year, ultimately skipping theaters to be released on Disney+. Having seen the final product, it's easy to understand why, despite having a talented director like Kenneth Branagh attached. He does try to make it as visually interesting as he can, but this feels so completely removed from anything he has done that it doesn't feel like he directed it. There also appears to be numerous scenes missing from the finished product that had been used in the first trailer over a year ago.

The major problem is that the movie attempts to set up a world but doesn't want to take the time to do it. Lots of plot threads are started only to be quickly dropped or left hanging to rush to the next plot point. Things like how is Lieutenant Cudgeon, who is in a prison cell when Opal hires him to work for her, able to freely walk around the LEPrecon station without suspicion and even take over for Commander Root at one point is unexplained. The movie is less than an hour and a half without the credits but it feels like there is more going on than there actually is as the movie tries to put in so much set up for future films that it just ends up feeling like a mess. One can't help but wonder if these issues could have been solved with even 20 minutes added.

The acting in the movie is also a mixed bag. Josh Gad is fun, often bringing some much needed humor along with being one of the weirder parts of the movie (his tunneling methods, which I understand are book accurate, are interesting). I also ended up liking Lara McDonnell as Holly. She brings a lot to a very underwritten role with an interesting backstory. As Artemis, Ferdia Shaw is asked to carry the film and unfortunately he isn't up to the task. I am all for casting unknown actors and giving them their shot but I think the movie really could have benefitted from a more seasoned child actor.

I don't know what Disney was thinking with this frustrating adaptation and it's easy to see why it was dumped on Disney+.

Grade: D

Artemis Fowl is available on Disney+.