I knew I was in trouble with this movie when I saw the “Jim Henson Company” name in the opening credits.  Six minutes in I put it on pause and wondered if I should try to finish it because I thought it was dreadful.  Other people tell me they abandon movies if they cannot get into them immediately and this one made me feel like doing the same.  Nevertheless I soldiered on and made it to the end, post-credits scene and all.  Fantasy really isn’t my thing and this story is bewildering as well as bumptious.

Jeffrey Walker’s film based on the first of eight Tom Holt fantasy novels is set at the mysterious firm of J. W. Wells and Co. in London.  Goofy guy Paul Carpenter (Patrick Gibson) is looking for a job and falls into one as an intern at the firm, doing he knows not what for its president, Humphrey Wells (Christoph Waltz), supervised by the mean and petty Dennis Tanner (Sam Neill).  Another intern, Sophie (Sophie Wilde), reluctantly befriends him and they gradually learn the dark secret of the place while managing to change its history.

If one likes the “Harry Potter” universe or the “Percy Jackson” universe or basically anything magical with goblins and such, one would probably enjoy this actually well-mounted British adventure.  The Henson touch is evident with the goblin designs and some of the visual effects; thankfully for me these are kept to a minimum, and only occur when the story seems to need them.  This is one of those stories in which nothing makes sense for a time until the protagonist finally gets a handle on his own predicament and then determines to solve it.  There’s nothing wrong with this approach, of course, but I find it tedious and confusing, unless I am captivated by the situation.  In this case, I was not.

Ultimately the film works, and I suppose there may be others to follow.  It has a certain charm, the young stars are very appealing and the very oddity of the Wells firm (inspired by W. S. Gilbert of Gilbert and Sullivan, believe it or not) is curiously winning.  The older stars seem to have fun with their roles, and conspiracy theorists can find a lot of fodder for their grist mills if they choose (such is the business of the Wells firm, which is initially mystifying).  I cannot fault the production except for its cringey introduction to Paul and the underuse of the dog.  But it’s fantasy, and that’s really not my thing.  ☆ ☆.  25 April 2025.