[Locke]

Since I gave Mortal Instruments a chance, and found myself with a fun if not particularly good movie, I thought I'd have to give Beautiful Creatures a chance. This film even has some positivity circling it, with people claiming that although the film isn't particularly great, for once the central romance is actually good. That'd make a change, wouldn't it?

The strength of Beautiful Creatures is it introduces one film, then when it sits you down, introduces you to a whole other one, without ever losing sight of what got you in the seat in the first place. Beautiful Creatures is a campy, tongue in cheek critique of the Young Adult Supernatural Romance Genre or (YASRG). But just when you think it's gonna be another 'if you can't beat them, insult them' stains that are called films, Beautiful Creatures reveals itself to be about so much more.

It also helps that Beautiful Creatures is actually a solid movie. Like Twilight, Beautiful Creatures has a unique and easily identifiable style but unlike Twilight there appears to be actual money behind this, so we get great locations captured by even better cinematography. I never thought one of these sorts of movies would feel well made or could be beautiful.

Beautiful Creatures mixes up other aspects as well, like setting it in a deadbeat middle of nowhere deep south bible bashing town. Hardly the dramatic stage for a supernatural, young adult romance, is it? Nothing says sexy like a hick! And how could you hate a movie that hates Christianity as much as this movie?

But yeah, that hidden depth, that hidden maturity, it's glorious. Perhaps the most fascinating character in the entire film is Emmy Rossum's Ridley who turns up as a not quite as sexy as Alice Cullen knock off, and you roll your eyes, then you see her flashback and your jaw drops. She is incredibly complex, and it's a crying shame she isn't in the movie more.

There is also this whole plot about how when a girl becomes sixteen, her true nature comes out and she has no choice in the matter, she becomes evil or she becomes good, no in between. The subtext and what this really is all about is obvious, and the movie makes no attempt to share this message in any way less than purely hamfisted. But what I will say is they make the message work very well in its supernatural setting, just by adding a different paint job. It's a very real threat in real life, a very supernatural one here.

Hell, even the backstory of the whole thing seems to have actual stakes in play, as our modern day lovers are walking down the path of histories doomed lovers. A woman uses her powers to bring her lover back from the dead, only to be consumed by darkness and immediately kill him again. This curses her bloodline, and the only freedom from the curse is to take the life of your love to restore the balance. Grizzly stuff, for this kinda flick.

And when it comes to Sarafine revealing her feelings and belief around love? Well that is certainly going to turn a few heads. And make quite a few parents in the audience uncomfortable. Glorious.

It also has a lot of fun with gender roles, this time around our human is a boy and our supernatural mysterious person is a woman. And although Lena is basically Edward Cullen or Jace in a dress, they thankfully haven't tried to make Ethan a Kristen Stewart knock off with muscles. However I still think I liked The Mortal Instruments dynamic better, as there there really wasn't a damsel in distress in that one, thankfully. Unless you count the obligatory human extra so they could have a love triangle.

Sadly though, although the critics claimed the romance was well done here, I'm not entirely convinced. Bumpkin protagonist Ethan seems to only fall for Lena because she is different, and although it's fun to see these roles swapped, the romance isn't any more convincing for it. And the whole 'look how witty we are scenes', they are just cringe inducing. I guess at least they have some semblance of chemistry, unlike any of the central couples of any of these other franchises.

Plus, less so a direct criticism, and more a disappointment is the exploration of the world's mythology is largely given a back seat. There is so much of importance going on in the forefront, that it's almost three quarters through the whole movie before we are giving the inevitable small town greater purpose "twist". But when we do finally get there, the mythology's fun if not particularly original.

Lemme guess, this one ain't getting a sequel?