Review: Artemis Fowl is a crushing disappointment
Newcomer Ferdia Shaw beat out 1,200 other actors for the title role. [credit: Disney ]
Artemis Fowl fans loudly trumpeted their displeasure online when the second trailer for the film adaptation of the beloved YA books dropped in March, in advance of its debut on Disney+. Their objection: t looked like a significant departure from the evil boy genius of the novels in favor of a more Disney-friendly heroic figure. At the time, I adopted a "wait and see" attitude, since it's generally a good idea to see the actual film before passing judgement. Alas, that optimism was ill-founded. Artemis Fowl, the movie, is a spectacle-filled pointless slog that will be a crushing disappointment for book fans. The young criminal mastermind has been watered down and "Disney-fied" beyond recognition, just as fans feared.
(Spoilers below.)
There are eight books in the Artemis Fowl series, detailing the extensive exploits of the titular character. The debut novel received generally positive reviews and a few comparisons to J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, although Eoin Colfer's books have never achieved the same stratospheric commercial success. The comparison irritates Colfer, who describes his novels as being more like "Die Hard with fairies." As I wrote when the first teaser dropped way back in November 2018, "That's a fairly accurate description. Artemis is the anti-Harry Potter. He's a thief and a kidnapper, among other misdeeds, and he is largely untroubled by remorse. That's part of his charm."
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