Island of Lost Souls (2007)

The Worst Film Ever

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Blistering performances.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

I decided to watch this movie just based off it's intriguing title. An island, lost souls, sounds good!! The ambiance of this movie is really good. Lighting, sound, special effects, etc. All were well thought out and executed nicely. The acting was great, though I don't speak Danish. Just the tone and body language seemed right.The plot of the story was also decent. There are dozens of movies that tell of an ancient evil that was defeated many years ago and has returned now in the present day to try and recapture its grasp on humanity. This movie is another one. Nothing great about the plot but the details of the story are pretty cool. I don't think I've seen such a story before, so it was refreshing.Even as an adult, I enjoyed this movie about little kids that save the world without magic powers. If you find yourself bored on a Tuesday night and the WoW servers are down for maintenance, pop this one in and enjoy the ride.

If you expect a Hollywood blockbuster, you'll be disappointed. If you expect a fun and great story with a perfect plot, you might be disappointed. If you just want to be entertained and are tired of "Anja & Viktor" or "Tempelriddernes skat" (The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar), you will not be disappointed. For a Danish film, the visual effects are amazing. It is in a way "our" version of 'Star Wars' - if you compare where Danish film is right now, and what Nikolaj Arcelhave done, this IS our 'Star Wars'. But most of all, it's just fun. And is that not what movies like "The Goonies" ('85) have to be? It's just damn good fun. It's not perfect, but hey! Neither was or is 'Star Wars'. I would love to see more of this "Hollywood" competition coming from Danish directors, and not only in terms of visual effects. I would like to see the Danish film producers "try harder".

I went in to see this movie, not knowing what to expect, but went out totally blown away. I am a fan of the fantasy-genre, which of course helps, but still, I was impressed. First of all, the special effects are awesome. The best I have seen, except for LOTR and maybe Harry Potter. Second, the acting is very good, especially Lars Mikkelsen as the super-villain (played with a very nice edge, even more than usual for the genre) and Lukas Munk Billing as the possessed little boy. But what impressed me most was the writing. The dialog is hilarious throughout the movie, with a very brilliant dark humor, but at the same time doesn't compromise the sense of doom or fall back on kliché (too much). This movie takes itself seriously and it doesn't talk down to you, as is so often seen in kids-movies. And that makes it a very scary movie. I saw kids at 11 and 12 in the cinema, and they had no place there. Unfortunately, the final cutting could have been a little better. A little of the tension disappears at times, but still almost a masterpiece. Go see it!

I just saw this tonight at a special sneak premiere with a Q&A session with the director Nikolaj Arcel. I must say that this is the most impressive visual effects film that has ever come out of denmark. Even though its a kids film, it still managed to keep me entertained throughout the whole film, and unlike other typical danish films, it doesn't talk down to you or has unrealistic dialog. Its obvious that the director has been influenced by such films as Star Wars, Harry Potter etc. but it still comes out as original piece with a lot of danish humour.All in all a very enjoyable film that i look forward to see again.