The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Review

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is not without its charms, but overall does not work. This movie is about a young girl, Clara, who is transported to a magical world based off the Nutcracker Ballet. Mackenzie Foy gives a great performance. She makes her character instantly likable and carries a lot of this movie by herself. Jayden-Fowora-Knight gives a really good performance playing the nutcracker soldier. Morgan Freeman and Hellen Mirren give okay performances, but the script gives them very little to do. Kiera Knightly gives an awful and extremely weird performance. She is talking in this weird high-pitched baby voice that is super distracting. Co-directors Lasse Hallstrom and Joe Johnston do a very mediocre job directing. The flow of the movie feels very unfocused. The script is very scattershot with so many random sequences and poor writing decisions that leave you baffled. However, I must admit the opening 15 minutes are quite good, but I lost interest quickly. The visual effects are overall great though a few moments are really poor. The costume and set design should be applauded for how unique and beautiful it is. At 93 minutes the pacing is really odd, yet thankfully never super slow. Overall The Nutcracker and the Four Realms has some strengths, but not enough to earn a watch.

4.5/10