It is a gorgeous film. A designer’s wet dream.
But the pacing is off and the characters, for the most part, fall flat. It’s as if you gave today’s effects technology to someone used to making films in 1935. It tries to be charming and retro, but succeeds only in being… well, of the kind of crap writing quality of the serials of that period. The lead characters— though we’re supposed to believe that they were, and are, still in love— have almost no chemistry, and many of the other characters seem to think they’re in a David Mamet film— saying the lines, but never feeling them (but without the benefit of clever dialogue). There were some good moments between the charaters as it got toward the end, and some cool action sequences… but even I, at times, was bored— and that’s saying a lot.
I wanted to love this film— I really did. But, perhaps the eight months of hype got my hopes up too high. Perhaps I could only be disappointed.
Technically, though, it’s a masterpiece. The virtual sets look amazing, and I really love the look of the film. I’d say, if you’re into that sort of design, it’s probably worth seeing it on the big screen, just for scrutinizing the frames, but otherwise, save it for video.