Well Steem, its been a whole 2 hours? and here I am writing again.
I figure this is as good a time as any to start the reviews.
WARNING: SPOILERS - I have to do that right? protect the snowflakes.. heaven forbid I not warn people about spoilers in a review post...
In this post: A Series Of Unfortunate Events; Netflix vs the film vs the books.
Growing up I loved these books and so when I heard Netflix would be doing the series I was quite excited at the prospect. I know many people were not as they loved the film and so felt that the new series wouldn't match up, which I understand. But still, I had high hopes and faith in Netflix to deliver just as they have with many other well executed series'.
Now, down to the main points. I'll split this review into sections. 1. the books. 2. the film. 3. the series and 4. a comparison.
The books.
I must confess that reading the books again as an adult, they can be somewhat... tedious in the way the are written at times. The constant breaking of the 4th wall can become trying in places, and the definitions of words is a little tiring ( for an adult who know's the words meanings anyway). However, as a child/ teen reading them they were perfect. Brilliant story - even now- great character development and a depth in it's darkness that grips you.
And so given the plot is all there without much need for change it should follow that adapting it into a film or series should be pretty straight forward.The film.
Brilliant, but not perfect.
From the cast choice to the film score it captivated the audience just as it should, with Thomas Newman's beautifully haunting compositions in the perfect places.
However I do have a few qualms with it; the first being that they only did 4 of the books. Now I understand this is partly because the children will be growing up very fast and so by the time they have the second or third film out the actors are far beyond the age that they are meant to be portraying. But, it is in my personal opinion that you do not start a series of books as films if you do not intend to continue them. Why? Firstly because you have a whole fan base invested in these books and so the films, expecting to be able to finally see the beloved stories they read and imagined on the big screen immersing them even more into the world. Secondly, because if the film you make is good and does what it should, you then make it immensely hard for anyone else to redo or continue the films as they will forever compare it to the film you have made.
My Second qualm is with Count Olaf, played by Jim Carrey, now I know most people wont agree with this because they love Jim, and they loved his Count Olaf. But you see there in lies the problem. Jim Carrey's Count Olaf was just that - lovable. Now if you have read the books you should see the problem in this. Count Olaf is evil, he is supposed to make your skin crawl. He is a creep, he is selfish, he is a monster, but Jim Carrey's portrayal is none of these things. I love Jim Carrey but for this character, I don't think he did it justice.
Meryl Streep however, was brilliant in her role as Aunt Josephine, as was Billy Connolly as Uncle Monty. And UGH Jude Law was just perfect for Lemony Snicket... he just has one of those voices, you know?The series
So far as I have mentioned, its difficult not to compare it with the film. And so I hope with the new season, as it will be covering the other books, I will be able to view it with a much more opened mind.
The Wes Anderson style filming I love, especially for this series. I think it fits perfectly. I also love that all the adults are insufferable which is exactly how they are meant to be. In the books its exhausting to see each adult fooled by Count Olaf and are in general completely useless. The series definitely captivates this. Lemony Snicket's very unique style of writing also definitely comes across in the series... although I'm not entirely sure of how I feel about the slight plot changes as of yet aka, the introduction of the VFD so early on.
Another part I am unsure of is the musical numbers. In a way i think they are fitting when it comes to Count Olaf, He is a showman after all, but the one at the end of the series? I don't know, I'll update you when I've made my mind up about that.
Now. Neil Patrick Harris as Count Olaf. I have to say I was sceptical at first, after all I do think that Jim Carrey would be a great Count Olaf if he could play him in a way that made you despise him, but actually I was pleasantly surprised with N.P.H. His portrayal was great. I really didn't like this Count Olaf at all, the scene when he slaps Claus after being served dinner was perfect in deepening the character to a level of evil that reflects the books as it should. And especially the scene where he lays his hand on Violet and says "I can touch whatever I want" was chilling just as Count Olaf is in the books. Hopefully this will continue and get better as the series progresses.
Of course I do also have to mention the CGI Sunny... I have to say I'm not a fan of CGI, film and TV is much more immersive where it isn't used, however I understand that the have to somehow keep the baby at roughly the same age for multiple series so this is arguably necessary in this case.A Comparison
In general I feel the the Netflix adaption follows the books well and does it justice, I am happy with it so far and look forward to the next season. Both the actors in the film and the show were generally well picked although some outdo others i.e. Meryl Streep. And I feel both are good adaptions, although if the film finished all the books and tweaked Count Olaf a tad, I'd have to say that it would be near perfect. The film had a depth to it that really moved the audience, it felt a lot more desperate and heartbreaking and really felt like the books. However I remain positive that the Netflix adaption will continue to get better, and perhaps if we are very lucky will surpass the film and do the books justice... just as they deserve.
Well, again, thanks for reading. It was quite raw, first review I've done written down so I'm sure it doesn't quite read as it should and I've probably missed a bunch of stuff but anyway.
Stay safe out there xox
