First off, this film has a lot of aspects as far as creatures and magic that I've never seen before in a film. I can't really go into detail about it, but an example would be the 5 headed snake in the trailer. Sure we've seen snakes with many heads in plenty of films, but how this creature is created and what happens when it gets injured is incredible and completely unheard of. Also the main plot of what the antagonist, Leezar, is trying to accomplish is incredibly creative. I can't go into detail about his plot because it would be a massive spoiler since it's not in any <more> of the trailers, but it is the most creative diabolical plan that I've heard of in quite some time. There are plenty of others that I'd love to talk about, but I don't wanna spoil it for anyone.Secondly, there is a vast variety of different kinds of visual effects in this movie. Granted, most of it is CGI, but there is a Minotaur that's shown in the trailer that's basically a guy in a suit, and even a puppet! I was amazed that we finally get a film in a time when EVERYTHING is CGI that we actually get practical effects, puppetry, and costumes. I would be shocked if this film doesn't get remembered by at least regular movie going audiences for some of the best visual effects of 2011. So far, it definitely has the best by a long shot.Third, this movie is absolutely hilarious! In all honesty, this is the funniest film that I've personally seen since Ben Stiller's amazing Hollywood parody, Tropic Thunder. The thing is that I would not compare this film to Tropic Thunder because it is not a parody. If anything, I'd compare this to Zombieland. It's a hilarious film that is not a parody of a specific genre. Your Highness is not a parody of the epic quest film. Instead, it is an epic quest film with a lot of humor thrown into the mix. In fact, the best thing about this film is how excellent it is as an epic quest film instead of how hilarious it is. Nonetheless, the comedy in this film is genius and the film is gut busting hilarity. Sadly, some of the funniest lines were given away in some of the trailers, but the funniest scenes in the film weren't given away at all. In particular there's one with a Minotaur that had me in stitches.The chemistry between these main characters is definitely intact. Danny McBride and James Franco are completely believable as brothers in the film despite the obvious fact that they don't look alike at all. Natalie Portman and Danny McBride also have very good chemistry as the two lovebirds of the film. James Franco and Zooey Deschanel's chemistry seems very forced but thankfully the film makes it clear that it's supposed to feel that way, so that's not a problem.Danny McBride does a great job in leading this film. He never comes across as annoying like he does in some of his other films. He does a really excellent job in the lead and he also supports the film with some really big laughs.James Franco is also great in the movie. Sure, he doesn't go over the top hilarious like he did in David Gordon Green's previous film, Pineapple Express, but he doesn't need to be. Everyone else supports the film with the hilarity that it needs, so even though he could've been funnier, he didn't need to be much funnier than he already was.Natalie Portman is very funny in the movie surprisingly. I sort of expected her to just be the eye candy of the film. In some moments, she definitely is that, but she also has quite a lot of funny lines. Also, there is one action scene with her that kind of gives Hit Girl a run for her money. She can be pretty epic during the action sequences.Justin Theroux is a hilarious antagonist for the film. He supplies this movie with some very funny lines and some of the most memorable scenes in the movie. I just knew that not a lot of people were gonna talk about him when the film comes out, so I wanna stress this. He's comedy gold in this film. This is sort of expected since he also wrote the screenplay for Tropic Thunder.Zooey Deschanel is very funny in the few scenes that she's in. Some people may say that she was underused in the film, but she has just the right amount of screen time for me. She does exactly what you want out of her character and she does it extremely well.David Gordon Green does an excellent job behind the camera for this film. It's very well shot, directed, and paced. He knows exactly what he's doing especially for an incredibly gory film like this. In all honesty, this is one of the goriest films that I've seen in quite some time. The director also shoves the gore in your face. In fact, one death in the movie actually felt 3D by how the gore just flew right toward the camera. It's kind of shocking that this had more 3D than The Last Airbender when this wasn't even IN 3D.And lastly, the end of this film is very satisfying. It's very funny, it's well shot, it's an ending that left a smile on my face, and it's the perfect conclusion for this epic film. Sure I may have wanted more after the film ended, but that's a sign that the movie was so good that you wanted more. Thankfully, the film sets up for a sequel and I'm more than happy if they decide to make one.I give Your Highness a 10/10 <less> |