With a career at its disappointing pinnacle Lemuel Gulliver (Jack Black) delivers mail in a publishing house, whilst secretly, if pretty obviously, obsessing about travel editor Darcy Silverman (Amanda Peet). A nervous mix-up has Jack telling tall tales about his great adventures, thus unwittingly applying for a post as travel writer - and getting it by copy pasting a perfect article. His first employ has him chugging off to the Bermuda triangle in search of a sunny story, instead finding himself whisked away by a whirlwind straight into the kingdom of Liliput. There he finds himself trapped by General Edward (Chris O'Dowd). His only comrade fellow inmate Horatio (Jason Segel), chained due to his unwise endearments towards Princess Mary (Emily Blunt).
Despite a somewhat promising cast, the intent to modernise the story has Gulliver's story transformed into a humourless self-parody with some crude or even mildly obscene jokes (surprising given its family friendly rating) forcibly making way for anything resembling narrative. The highlights of which is Black urinating on a fire or falling on his butt-cheeks with a Liliput inserting himself... you know where. As can be expected Jack Black (like him or forever leave him) returns to character as the endless man-child with some geeky back-story and limited wit. Therefore he seems entirely at home handing out some PG obscenity and molding remarks like 'Ship Happens'.
The story itself has been trivialised to MTV style fanfare with none of the social commentary of Jonathan Swift (however outdated it may have seemed given its 1726 context), instead supplanted with two woozy love interests and a multitude of over-the-top jesters (also guised in the form of kings and generals). The overall story has whittled down to the bare minimum of Liliputs and conflicting kingdoms, but apart from the that the connection is non-existent. Despite some expensive looking special effects quality is a non-ingredient, instead reaching to gutter levels for humour and placing all the weight of carrying the movie on Black's antics. Given Segel, Blunt and co fail to turn up, instead handing out a bland exaggerated ensemble performance "Gulliver's Travels" is essentially a pretty cringing experience.
Despite a somewhat promising cast, the intent to modernise the story has Gulliver's story transformed into a humourless self-parody with some crude or even mildly obscene jokes (surprising given its family friendly rating) forcibly making way for anything resembling narrative. The highlights of which is Black urinating on a fire or falling on his butt-cheeks with a Liliput inserting himself... you know where. As can be expected Jack Black (like him or forever leave him) returns to character as the endless man-child with some geeky back-story and limited wit. Therefore he seems entirely at home handing out some PG obscenity and molding remarks like 'Ship Happens'.
The story itself has been trivialised to MTV style fanfare with none of the social commentary of Jonathan Swift (however outdated it may have seemed given its 1726 context), instead supplanted with two woozy love interests and a multitude of over-the-top jesters (also guised in the form of kings and generals). The overall story has whittled down to the bare minimum of Liliputs and conflicting kingdoms, but apart from the that the connection is non-existent. Despite some expensive looking special effects quality is a non-ingredient, instead reaching to gutter levels for humour and placing all the weight of carrying the movie on Black's antics. Given Segel, Blunt and co fail to turn up, instead handing out a bland exaggerated ensemble performance "Gulliver's Travels" is essentially a pretty cringing experience.