Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Critic Reviews

A gem of a movie, all its adversity and wickedness a backdrop for a story about the remarkable resilience of childrenRead the full review

Good movie, great fun.Read the full review

The film's no masterpiece, but at least you're in the hands of people who know what they're doing.Read the full review

Much credit for this delightfully morose children's film must go to director Brad Silberling's careful orchestration. Please note, in the vocabulary-building spirit of the Snicket books, that the word "orchestration'' here means "coaxing good performances out of child actors and keeping Jim Carrey in check.''Read the full review

Manages to remain witty throughout.Read the full review

At its best, A Series Of Unfortunate Events is the stuff nightmares are made of, a sick joke of a film that realizes the best children's entertainment doesn't hide from the bleaker side of life, but plunges into the void and respects kids enough to assume they can handle it.Read the full review

Snicket's macabre tale of three newly orphaned siblings has been lavishly visualized. But for all its elaborate splendor, production pic lacks the feeling and imagination that have distinguished the best recent kidpics.Read the full review

There is no one in the movie to provide a reasonable reaction to anything; the adults are all demented, evil, or, in the case of Mr. Poe, stunningly lacking in perception, and the kids are plucky enough, but rather dazed by their misfortunes.Read the full review

A visually arresting and entertaining romp, but it lacks some of the sardonic humor of the popular children's books on which the movie is based.Read the full review