so much attention has been lavished on the sumptuous visuals that the story and characters are suffocated; The story remains stubbornly lacking in excitement or enchantment; it's more assaultive, to the point of becoming dull
he unruly, incoherent "The Nutcracker and the Four Realms" is like an explosion of special effects and set design in search of a story; [it] is a dreadful holiday misstep
as sweet as a sugar plum and only slightly more nutritious, this shows scars from a tumultuous road to the screen but still emerges as a whimsical, likeable fairy tale
a visual spectacle that is wildly imaginative, dazzling and, ...charming; In the end, "Nutcracker" is a delightfully old-school diversion; like a music box, it nevertheless plays a sweet tune
"The Nutcracker and the Four Realms" is wildly colorful and fairly frenetic, with numerous pleasures along the way. But its late scenes seem to run out of steam, as if the movie starts coming down too early from its sugar overload
by Michael O'Sullivan [Washington Post ]
by Moira Macdonald [The Seattle Times ]
