One of
the biggest disappointments of 1996, and without a doubt, the worst
movie for it's stars and director. Basically disowned by almost
everyone involved, this film will have most viewing it wishing they
had all memory of it erased. It's a shame a classic H.G. Wells story
has been chopped up to become nothing more than a Jurassic Park
knock-off.
The story takes place in the near future, where on a deserted island the long-thought missing Dr. Moreau has been combining human DNA into animals in order to try to make perfection and himself a god. A man found drifting on the high seas is brought to the island but everyone appears to be mad, and the natives are restless to revert back to their animal selves.
The film is
terrible to be sure, but not totally withou merits. Brando turns in
a relatively decent performance given what garbage he had to work
with, and Balk is appealing as his created daughter. Thewlis gets
most of the screentime, which is a shame since he's totally
unappealing, and Kilmer is totally wasted in a role that has very
little for him to do and with which he does little with. Wells'
classic story has been done before, and almost all of the themes have
been done counteless times in other films, that there's really little
to hold the attention of most viewers. Repugnant, mercilessly
gruesome, and shamelessly distasteful, this film leaves such an
unappealing aftertaste that you may find yourself watching another
movie directly after this one (assuming you can make it to the end)
just to not havetime to think about it anymore.
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