Edward Scissorhands Movie Review

Rating: 8/10

Edward Scissorhands is a highly praised fantasy film directed by Tim Burton. It is known to be Tim Burton’s favorite film he has done. Therefore, I was eager to see how this film would leave an effect on me although fantasy is not one of my favorite genres of film.

Edward Scissorhands follows the story of Edward, a near complete person created by an inventor who unfortunately died before he could finish him. Edward is left in a castle on top of a hill with scissors for his hands. He lives there alone until one day a kind lady welcomes him home and introduces him to her family and the neighborhood.

Edward Scissorhands is a solid fantasy film. I didn’t love it, I didn’t enjoy it that much but It was a good 2-hour fantasy film. The setting in this film is spectacular. I’m not talking about the neighborhood itself, but the world of Edward, a man who has scissors for his hands; the friends he made, different types of people he met, and the things he did in the neighborhood. Tim Burton did a great job at creating this world.

The reason why this film works as a fantasy is the character of Edward himself. If he was not mysterious or interesting, this film would have fallen flat to the ground. But it didn’t. Johnny Depp brings Edward to life and makes him a very unique and mysterious character. He doesn’t talk much. His feelings are mostly conveyed through his facial expressions and actions. Johnny Depp did a great job at creating a likable character who we, the audience, care deeply for and this is the reason this film works so well.

Edward Scisscorhands is basically a character study of how his neighbors view him. The film is centered around Edward, but the real story is how other people see him. First, they see Edward as this new thing in town. He is the odd one out and they all pay attention to him. Then, they start to fear him, when he is still the same person they fell in love with. It was fascinating to see that story pan out. It kind of reflects on the society in the real world.

There are quite a few good performances in this film. Winona Ryder was great as Kim. The chemistry between her and Edward was there and I bought there romance. Dianne Wiest was also great as Peg, the person who takes care of Edward throughout the whole film. I felt her love she has for Edward. The actors that portrayed the neighbors are great too. They did a great job at creating annoying and pathetic characters.

I have several problems with this film. At first, it was interesting and all to see Edward be put in the real world and see him interact with everybody. We see that happening for the whole first half of the film. Then, complications started rising and when it was supposed to be the climax of the film, I stopped caring about Edward. The climax was not interesting at all. I still wanted Edward to be alright but I just couldn’t care for him. When the film was supposed to peak, it bored me a little.

The first half of the film, we see the story Edward where he gets put in this neighborhood but to be honest, nothing much really happens. Some things happened but nothing that important or interesting that kept my attention for the climax. Then, the climax arrived, and I was already a little bit bored. I sat through the climax and the conclusion of the story kinda letting the story pan out on me. I was hoping to be surprised and entertained. But I wasn’t. The credits started rolling and I felt a little bit disappointed.

One other problem I have with the film is the character of Jim, Kim’s boyfriend. In the first half of the film, he is just a typical high school student. Then, in the second half, he turns out to be the main villain of the film. It was out of character for Jim to do what he did. His character is a little too over the top and it annoyed me a little. It made me think that the complications in the film were forced just for the sake of having complications.

Maybe fantasy is just not my cup of tea, but I didn’t enjoy Edward Scissorhands as much as I thought I would. When the credits started rolling, I thought the film was a little pointless. I didn’t really care about Edward and the story in the film was not that interesting. However, it is still a solid fantasy film that I think many people would love and enjoy. I just didn’t have that much of a connection with the film.

Edward Scissorhands is a solid film; good acting, directing, and writing. They did a great job at creating this fantasy world. It is not a bad way to spend two hours watching. If you like fantasy films, I think you would like this film. But for me, the film just didn’t do it for me. It is certainly not my favorite Tim Burton film.