FUN WORLD

Does Robert Pattinson have another hit on his hands with Water for Elephants?

Perhaps at the box office, but not according to a majority of movie critics around the country. Take a look at various excerpts from a sampling of publications that aren't exactly in love with the Twilight star's new film, which opens on April 22...

Even nonreaders of the book can figure out what happens next. It's all in the telling. Sara Gruen provided grit and pungent detail. The movie settles for gloss. - Rolling Stone

The script by Richard LaGravenese, who is well-versed in adapting popular fiction such as Bridges of Madison County, lacks the sparkle of his best work. - USA Today

The love triangle takes a familiar shape and the dialogue tends toward the banal. Rarely has running away to join the circus looked so dull. - Boxoffice Magazine

The problem isn't just miscasting or the cheesiness of the material. It's Pattinson's increasingly predictable, dour persona. - Salon dot com

Short-circuits the novel's quirky charms and period atmosphere by its squeamish attitude toward gritty circus life and smothers the drama under James Newton Howard's insufferable wall-to-wall musical soup. - The New York Times