Nice Try, But A Bit Too Sloppy In Parts
I wanted to like this movie - I really did. And it starts off great; you've got Ian McKellen narrating, cool camera effects and a princess held prisoner by a witch with a magical chain. And then the movie takes a serious nosedive. Much of the acting is subpar, there are plotholes aplenty, and the influences aren't so much referred to as ripped off from their sources (King Lear, MacBeth, The Princess Bride, etc.). There are some interesting moments, most notably Robert De Niro's entire performance (which nearly falls into the "subpar" acting I mentioned early, but he's so over-the-top it kind of works), Michelle Pfeiffer's comedic timing, and most of all, Mark William's Billy the Innkeeper character...what a great, fun, and funny role! Towards the end of the movie, I started to get extremely bored with the film and actually ended up playing Solitaire on my phone...not a good sign. Definitely made with children in mind. I don't know - chalk it up to a bad screenplay and bad directing, I guess.