The Witches Review: 4 Ups & 6 Downs

3. Robert Zemeckis' Weirdly Anonymous Direction

It's fair to say that Robert Zemeckis hasn't made an undeniably great movie since 2000's Cast Away, and his career since has been marked by maddening inconsistency, from the rock solid likes of Flight and The Walk to the forgettable mediocrity of A Christmas Carol and Allied.

The Witches marks another whatever effort from the Back to the Future filmmaker, and though not without its visually dazzling moments - often courtesy of the sharp production design - for the most part this feels like a generic fantasy film any competent director could've made.

Its overall lack of a personal stamp is made further evident by the fact that the 1990 film really couldn't have been made by anyone but Nicolas Roeg.

Roeg brought a distinct look and feel to his version of the story, creating an otherworldly dark fantasy vibe that couldn't easily be replicated by another artist.

Zemeckis' film, conversely, just feels like the sort of watchable yet uninspired hokum a decent jobbing director cranks out for a paycheck.

To call it a squandering of the man's talents is a colossal understatement.