My Review of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (In memory of Heath Ledger) · 2:51am Jan 23rd, 2021

Rating Scale:

12/10—a complete masterpiece; flawless and outstanding
11/10—Excellent, near-perfect film
10/10—the standard rating; awesome film with a couple of flaws
9/10—a wonderful film with several flaws
8/10–a great film with numerous flaws but not enough to ruin it
7/10—a fun and entertaining movie; not great but still enjoyable
6/10—a slightly above average film; it is something I might watch again
5/10—mediocre movie; not awful but not great either
4/10—a below average film; it could have been much better
3/10—a bad film; poorly written and poorly executed
2/10—a very bad movie; the few good things in the movie overshadowed by the bad things
1/10—a terrible movie; a total waste of time
0/10—a worthless piece of abomination; should have never been made

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Greetings, friends. For those of you that may not know, today marked the 13th anniversary of the death of this splendid young actor named Heath Ledger.

He is most well-known for his role of The Joker in The Dark Knight, the same year it was released just six months after his untimely death in January 22nd, 2008. Today, many fans including myself remember Ledger for his iconic roles he played throughout his acting career and for what he had accomplished prior to his passing. He continues to live on through his movies and shows he played a part of and will never be forgotten. Thus, in memory of him, I will be reviewing this movie called The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus which was also one of the two films (including The Dark Knight) that were posthumous releases. This was released in 2009.

To be honest, this movie is a 50/50 for many reasons. First off, the significance Heath played in this film really hurts as I know fully well that this was his last film role... at least half-way through. It would explain why his Imaginarium counterparts were played by three different actors every time he went to the other side of the magical mirror. I have always thought that The Dark Knight was his last film role... but I was wrong. After watching this movie, I was underwhelmed, surprised, and saddened all at the same time. It really, really hurts watching all this.

(Sigh) So this movie’s first act was boring straight up; I’m not gonna lie. I was waiting for the first half-hour for Heath Ledger to show up on screen; once I saw him on screen, I was so happy! But... his character named Tony is seen hanging under a bridge. I felt like I wanted to cry at that moment because if that isn’t a foreshadow of what will happen to Ledger, then I don’t know what is. But anyway, Tony was the only character in the movie I legit enjoyed watching. In fact, I think Tony is the only legit protagonist/hidden antagonist I really like since he was so enthusiastic, cunning, resourceful, eloquent, and very charming. Tony always had tricks under his sleeve and was so willing to get things he wanted even though his villainous past was nearly exposed.

What about the rest of the characters? Well, not all of them were terrible, but one character I hate in particular was Andrew Garfield’s character. Seriously, I did not expect to see Andrew Garfield in this, and I found his character very egotistical, annoying, selfish, and overall unbearable. The same guy who becomes Spider-Man later on? Wow. Christopher Plummer was good though since his character—Parnassus—is seen with character flaws and appeared to be almost relatable. I say this because most elderly characters in movies and shows are often portrayed as flawless but here... Doctor Parnassus isn’t perfect and has some temper issues. That’s fine because we need to put character development into action!

Lily Cole? Ehh, I don’t like her character that much. Verne Troyer? His character was... actually decent. The rest of the acting was really good to be honest, and so was the animation of the fantasy world on the other side of the mirror. The visual effects were well done, and the soundtrack was passable at least. But the story was just uninteresting and boring.

So this movie had its own good moments, but overall, I must say that this movie was a 50/50 adventure for me. It’s not terrible, but it’s not groundbreaking or amazing either. Was this a great sendoff to Heath Ledger? My answer: NO. Honestly, The Dark Knight was his absolute perfect sendoff to his career because it was his FULL completed role whereas here, he only played his character halfway through until he was played by three different actors for his three Imaginarium counterparts on the other side of the mirror. Therefore, it gets a 5/10.

Lastly, after watching what the actors have said of Heath’s performance, it really shows how much of an impact he had on the film, on their minds, and on all those who knew him.

Rest In Peace, Heath Ledger. 🃏You will always be missed and remembered by all your fans.

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