It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a movie in the theater (well, not that long – I did see For Your Consideration a month or two ago.) Netflix has taken the place of a night at the movies most of the time. All in all, I like movies a lot, but even more than the actual movie itself I love getting all wound up in the fervor around movies.

For example, I’m not a super fan or anything but I loved waiting in line for the Star Wars Episode One. Some friends and I got in line at about 11am to see the 4pm show on opening day surrounded by Chewbacca costumes (at least I hope it was a costume), and light sabers re-enactments. To see what I mean try this clip from Conan. Doesn’t even matter if the movie is good or not (well, it matters a little), but it is fun to immerse yourself in pop culture.

On this note, recently on both Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes I was seeing unbelievable ratings for Pan’s Labyrinth. Honestly, some of the best reviews I’ve ever seen:

5/5 Stunningly beautiful and movingly honest, this is one of best films of the year and another notch on the belt of one of the today’s most exciting filmmakers.

And the list goes on and on. On Rotten Tomatoes, it currently has a rating of 97 (105 Fresh / 3 Rotten). On Metacritic, 97 out of 100 (average viewer 8.4 out of 10). When Lapster and I went to see it this weekend the ratings were even higher – hard to believe that is even possible.

It was a snowy Saturday afternoon and we decided to go one of the first viewings (currently Pan is only playing in select cities). I thought I was ahead of the curve, but apparently everyone goes to the same web sites that I do. When we arrived for a Saturday afternoon matinee the line to get in was about half a city block. We were lucky to get tickets since it was pretty much sold out.

Here’s a quick synopsis of the movie Pan’s Labyrinth:

Check out the Trailer.

“Pan’s Labyrinth” is the story of a young girl who travels with her pregnant mother to live with her mother’s new husband in a rural area up North in Spain, 1944, after Franco’s victory. The girl lives in an imaginary world of her own creation and faces the real world with much chagrin. Post-war Fascist repression is at its height in rural Spain and the girl must come to terms with that through a fable of her own.” – IMDB

It’s directed and written by Guillermo del Toro who has a long distinguished career.

It can be difficult when you go into a movie with high expectations. It can really be the end of a film for me. I get so excited by “how great” it will be — not even having Brad Pitt re-enact the movie in my living room would be good enough. (Well, maybe it would be . . .)

So now, after all that build up (do you see what I mean by building up expectations?) what did I think of the movie?

It was a beautiful movie full of interesting fantasy sequences with unique monsters and a fun fairy tale storyline. The young girl trapped in a dark world, but she is actually a princess in the fantasy world is always wonderful. However, the majority of the film is a war movie – not the fantasy movie that the trailer implies. The young girl is completely beautiful and enchanting. You really do fall in love with her.

But here’s the thing – there is a lot of gratuitous violence. Maybe I am getting soft in my old age. Some heavy-handed moments that seem to me to be just to prove a point, but do not actually move the story forward. So I liked it a lot, and I am glad I saw it. But I don’t know that I can share the reviews that this is the best movie ever.

See all that build up – and what do you get? A little more than lukewarm review. Are you disappointed? Definitely see it – but see it before you read the online hype.