Disenchanted (2022) Movie Review – Amy Adams makes this average film worth the watch

Amy Adams makes this average film worth watching

As the industry continues to experience the era of nostalgia the string of movie remakes has been confronted with sequels to previous films. It doesn’t matter if it’s Top Gun: Maverick or Avatar 2, filmmakers are betting on the appeal of nostalgia to grab the attention of the public. Disenchanted is the same using the likable actors from the film 2007 to bring us back to the plot. In the beginning, it was a success. Then Amy Adam’s Giselle remains the sole one that is able to keep the audience’s attention until the final credits.

The story’s plot is a bit muddled when trying to do more than one thing at a time. The story begins a few years following what happened in Enchanted -The story begins when Giselle, as well as Robert, has a daughter named Sofia and Morgan becomes a grumpy teenager. The stress of having a baby and a conflicted relationship with Morgan encourage the family to relocate to the suburbs of Monroeville. If things don’t go as planned, Giselle uses an Andalasian wand to wish they could live a fairytale-like life. Unfortunately, the ideal fairy tale typically has an evil stepmother, and Giselle is, without realizing it becoming one.

In the end, Disenchanted wants to be about the stepmother and adopted daughter. It’s a great idea and, if it had the right blend of emotional depth and fantasy it could have made for an uplifting story. The film, however, is unable to remember this goal at the halfway point.

It was a huge possibility to deliver a devastating message on the negative effects of emotions and insecure relationships. Do you remember the moment when Giselle was angry at first in Enchanted? But you won’t find any of that in this installment. Instead, the story wraps itself around the fantasyland of Monrolasia, and its wicked queen.

It’s a nice enough film and Morgan continues to play an important role, however, their relationship with Giselle isn’t explored in the way it should be. Instead, it’s placed in the background until the final scene, where the words of a couple of heartfelt ones are enough to fix the entire issue.

What is most effective is Giselle’s descent into her evil stepmother’s alter-ego. Amy Adams flits between the charming, gentle Giselle and the gruesome vain stepmother effortlessly with her facial expression and tone of voice shifting between the two at the drop of an eye. You can’t keep your eyes off her while she moves between them.

It’s not the best movie although adorned with gorgeous costumes and extravagant CGI but is unable to match the quality it had in its previous film. Other than Idina Menzel’s “Love Power,” the music in the film is utterly bland. This is unfortunate in comparison to the incredible quality of ‘That’s how you’re Feeling’ as well as ‘Ever After the song from Enchanted.

Adams is without a doubt the best aspect of the movie. She draws your attention and stays with you through the end. However, the weight of a script that is overloaded and the lack of emotional depth are far too much to bear even on her award-winning shoulders.