A film that connects life, death and love inextricably, "The Book of Life" is a crazy, macabre movie that is a rollicking roller coaster despite a couple of speed bumps along the way.
"Book" is the story of Manolo (voice of Diego Luna), a dashing young musician who loves the lovely Maria (Zoe Saldana). They have a friend, Joaquin (an almost unrecognizable Channing Tatum), a great soldier who also vies for Maria's hand.
The three are best friends at childhood, and the playful love triangle of their youth becomes a real one as they grow into adults. Maria is torn between the wildly romantic Manolo, who vexes her with his song, and Joaquin, who is a good enough guy, if a little full of himself. The complication is that Joaquin is respected as a soldier and seen as their small village's savior from roving marauders.
Manolo comes from a long line of matadors, and his father has designs on his son becoming a bullfighter, a sentiment Manolo does not share.
Then Manolo dies.
Yes, he dies, and this being a Guillermo del Toro production (directed by Jorge R. Gutierrez), that's only the beginning of the story. Manolo travels to the afterlife, where he finds he is part of a wager between La Muerte (Kate del Castillo), who rules the Land of the Remembered, and Xibalba (Ron Perlman), who presides over the Land of the Forgotten — two stand-ins, I suppose, for heaven and hell.
Manolo is reunited with deceased family members in the Land of the Remembered, an eclectic cast of characters highlighted by his mother, who passed on years before. But Manolo should still be alive, so he, driven by his love for Maria, embarks on a death-to-life quest to return home before his village is plundered by Chakal (Dan Navarro), a fearsome, villainous creature with arms like Inspector Gadget.
To be sure, there is a lot going on in "The Book of Life," maybe too much. It's steeped in Mexican religion and culture, and the result is a lush, gorgeous explosion of bright colors and a visual style that integrates skeletons heavily and has maybe even a touch or two of steampunk.
But it also puzzlingly integrates contemporary pop songs into this world. I'm not sure if it's supposed to come off as silly or romantic, but it doesn't exactly work thematically. Given extra time, original songs would have elevated the movie Disney-style, while using modern pop songs puts it more in line with the "Shrek" movies.
"The Book of Life" is solid and fun, with terrific action, clever humor and tremendous visual appeal. I want to call it a great film, but ultimately it falls just short of that mark. Go see it; it's a good time at the movies.