I’m super ambivalent about this one. On the one hand, it’s a wonderful love letter to Georges Méliès, one of the true grandfathers of cinema. That was really fun to see from a film-nerd perspective. Knowing about Scorsese’s childhood and his long history of promoting film restoration enhances the experience and makes the whole film seem very personal.

On the other hand, from a film-making perspective I’m just not sure I’m on board. First,I like the idea that Scorsese is pushing the boundaries of the medium in the same way that Melies did, but I still hate 3D. Rewatching the movie at home on a 2D Blu-Ray, it contains way too many ostentatiously depth-filled shots that stick out like a sore thumb. Second, Scorsese really needs to lay off the teal/orange color correction (see The Aviator for another big offender.) Third, I’m not sure there was a single shot in the movie that didn’t have a CGI effect in the frame, and large sections of the movie were wholly animated. I think CGI is used best when it’s used sparingly, so these animated sequences grated on me. The whole movie was basically no more real than the “Jolly Holiday” sequence from Mary Poppins.