Fantasy Island | Film Review

Hey Guys x

I don't remember hearing about this movie much before it came out, apart from the fact that my sister really wanted to see it. We had planned to go to the cinema, but it seemed to have a really limited release so we didn't get the chance. 

A group of people are invited to a mysterious island with the promise that their fantasies will come true. But when their supposed fantasies start to turn into nightmares, will the group be able to work out the secrets of the island, and escape, before it's too late?

I had seen the reviews for this before seeing it, so I expected it to be really bad, and I didn't think I'd enjoy it at all.

Because of this, I was really pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the film.

For a start, I loved that there were no unnecessary backstories for any of the characters - everything that happens in the film advances the plot, and even the things that don't seem that relevant are still entertaining.

Each of the characters had an interesting story, and by extension an interesting fantasy that they got to play at within the film. Now, not every fantasy is great, but even the ones that aren't as good don't really take anything away from the film.

And I found that even though all of the fantasies are really disjointed, they work really well as one overall story. Part of this is down to the writing and pacing of the movie, the way that all of the stories are given an equal opportunity to shine, and that we get to know these characters in the same way.

Speaking of the characters, all of the characters that we are presented with are really interesting, fleshed out people that feel, for the most part, realistic. In terms of finding out who they are, their backstories are expertly teased and pushed forward throughout the movie, rather than fed to us in clunky flashbacks or over-explanations.

There are a few twists in the movie, which for me just made the whole thing that much more entertaining.

Overall, the film was cheesy in parts, but overall a really enjoyable, light-hearted movie that definitely deserves a first and second watch.

6.5/10

Lou