WATER FOR ELEPHANTS – francis lawrence – 4.1 / 10

It’s not terribly surprising that former music video director Francis Lawrence has, with Water for Elephants, made a handsomely mounted but ultimately superficial film.  It is surprising, however, just how perfunctory the film is.  There’s less going on beneath the surface of this film than there is even in something as brain-dead as Fast Five.  What you see is what you get and not a bit more.  And while the 1930s setting provides for a lot of pretty pictures and some nice art direction, that’s not nearly enough to sustain a two-hour film.