Reviewer Christine
Rating 3.8
Date March.7,2000
This movie was definitely different than the others in the Anne series and did have some major downfalls, but it still was a well made, extremely suspenseful movie.
Some things which disappointed me were Diana's riches (almost snobbish), the short wedding scene, the urbanization of the setting, and WHY WOULD ANNE GIVE GREEN GABLES UP?!?!? Anne's dream was to raise her family there, the house was an incredibly important part of her heart. That just doesn't fit Lucy's character of Anne! Nonethless, i still loved watching a new Anne with some new, adventurous parts full of love mystery & Suspense. I can still appreciate this movie despite it's "mistakes". Megan is a wonderful actress & I could never get tired of Anne OF Green Gables!
Reviewer Sarah
Email snowight@hotmail.com
Rating 2.5
Date 3/7/00
I agree with Christina, the movie was very disappointing. It was like whoever wrote this movie didn't read the books at all. The only thing that this movie had in common with the books were the characters in it. And the story line wasn't even that good. It was a bit unbeliavable that the character of Anne would allow herself to get in those situations that she got in in this movie. I hope if another movie is made, it will be true to the books and the character of Anne.
Reviewer Christina
Rating 2.5
I'm sorry, but the whole movie was dissapointing. The actors were really good but the story line was so dissapointing. First of all, the whole new york thing was totally out of character because Anne would never have let someone else put their name on her book in the first place..and then when he took ALL the credit she just gave up and went home? PLEASE, are we really supposed to believe Anne would do that?
The fact that anne went to france to look for Gil was in character but the Garrison storyline about her thinking of it as "their" child was complete junk...
Basically, I thought the actors did a very good job, but they were not in Avonlea enough, and the MUSIC!! what was going on with that? I think one of the biggest downfalls of the movie was the fact that the music wasn't the same Hagard Hardy music we all associate with Anne, The new music didn't give the feeling of an Anne movie, it didn't bring the emotions. Anyone i know who love the Anne movies melts when they hear the music because it takes them straight back to the movies...why the didn't use the same music in Anne 3? i don't know..but it was a BIG mistake in my books..They really should have thought about that.
(There is so much more i could say but I figure i gave enough input)
Reviewer Christine
Rating 4
Date March 7, 2000
Despite the fact that the third part drastically strays from the actual novel, it's a really beautiful story.
I would have liked it to have taken place in Avonlea a *little* more than it did. I can understand the need to move away from Avonlea, but I was surprised - and disappointed - by how MUCH they moved away. And, to be honest, I expected a little more from Anne and Gil's wedding. I'd been waiting so long to see them get married, and I thought they could have elaborated on it a little more (despite the circumstances).
The acting was fabulous, as expected. I had hoped for a few more scenes with Anne and Gil, but all the scenes they did have together were beautiful. There were several exceptionally charming scenes, including the train station scene near the end (which was too cute for words!).
My main complaint would have to be the Anne/Gilbert relationship. Their love story has always been my favourite aspect of the novels/series and I was a little disappointed that their relationship wasn't elaborated on as much as it could have been. All in all, though, it was a really delightful conclusion - and Megan and Jonathan are still so perfect for their roles!
Reviewer Jan
Rating 3
Date 3/7/00
I am a big Anne of Green Gables fan and have such a mixed opinion about the movie.
The storyline was okay - Megan Follows was superb - but it just wasn't 'Anne'. I guess I was expecting too much. I wanted to see more of Green Gables and less of New York, more of Anne and Gil and less of Jack. However, it was great to see most of the original cast together again.
The most moving part of the entire film was the end, where Anne went to pick up Dominique at the train station. That moment took me right back to the beginning of the Anne series. It really was touching.
I found the movie to be too 'choppy.' I don't think there was any reason to have Green Gables start on fire, plus the last 20 minutes of the movie seemed rushed. The wedding was terrible. I realize that they had Gil's departure on their minds, but it should have been a more joyous occasion. I mean we have been waiting for that scene since Gilbert pulled Anne's pigtails and called her carrots!
The movie wasn't what I expected and that is why I am dissapointed. If I wasn't such a fan, and saw that movie without all the background knowledge, I would say that it was good. Anne truly is extraordinary and Megan Follows does a remarkable job portraying that.
Reviewer Ruth
Email ruthg@aa.net
Rating 1
Date 3-7-00
I know a rating of one is pretty harsh, but I am REALLY disappointed in this movie! Didn't any of you get the idea that the screenwriters hadn't read a single LM Montgomery book? I mean, where is the Anne we knew from the first 2 videos, and the LMM books? The old Anne was a sensitive poet who talked about the magic of a halo around the moon, and how lovers would pledge eternal love on such a night; It's the Anne who would sob, from "the depths of despair", that today was "such a Jonah Day". Anne always had plenty of adversity, but she always triumphed-- remember when the Kingsgate folks called her a mousy ridiculous redhead, or something like that? But she showed them. She was fresh, and young, and impulsive, and openminded. And she had her faults. She held grudges and was at once too outspoken and yet too sensitive.
Remember her recital of the Highwayman in Anne of GG-- she is scared to death, but then looking at that smug Josie Pye, she gets the determination to show the naysayers that she can do it.
I realize that Anne should be a more mature woman in the sequel, but then why do they have those ridiculous face plants? Anne runs to Gil on the beach-- face plant in the sand. Anne doesn't want Gil to see her in her wedding dress-- face plant on the stairs. This is their attempt at keeping Anne young and charmingly awkward. So why is Megan Follows speaking in this husky, sultry voice? Why all the gratuitous smooching? I mean, I like to see the romance between Anne & Gil, but it just didn't stay true to the LMM character OR the Anne of the previous movies.
The plot of the thing just didn't make sense. Diana is playing the grand dame in all her rich finery-- where did that come from?
Why did Anne & Gil go to NY at all? Just to introduce the Garrison character? And he was a mistake anyhow. I think the writers were trying to include some semi-autobiographical stuff on LMM, who DID work in NY, but it just didn't work. In the remake of Little Women (with Winona Ryder), they incorporated autobiographical stuff about Alcott, but stayed true to the book. This Anne film didn't stay true to the Anne character or LMM's writing style.
There were just too many weird scenes in this movie. Why have Green Gables catch on fire? Why have Anne & Gil's wedding be the most miserable wedding I have ever seen, and then have the tent collapse on them for some poorly-timed comic effect? Anne running through the trenches of WWI Europe in search of Gil? What stupidity!!! AAAGGGHhh! My husband saw my distress and jokingly said, "wait until the part where they give her superpowers".
I don't think I would've been surprised.
Why not use some of the material from the book, Anne's House of Dreams? Leslie and her drunken husband. Captain Jim and Cornelia. Or even work in Phillippa and other friends from college-- Yes, Anne is long past college, but they could've worked in some of those charming story lines as neighbors of her & Gil.
The one thing that saved me from giving this movie a zero rating is that it was good to see the old Avonlea gang again-- at least they had cameos of many of the folks from the earlier videos, and it was really fun to see their grown-up faces.
I'm like an earlier commenter-- I'm almost depressed over the disappointment of this "continuing story". I wish they would try again! It could've been so much better!
Reviewer Denise
Email DJSpringmeyer
Rating 3
Date 3/7/00
I finished watching "Anne 3" last evening and I, too, have some doubts about this one. It just wasn't the same as the other parts to the series, maybe because most of it seemed to be made up by someone. If it wasn't for the good acting, it would have been sheer disappointment! I think the ending was lame. Why would Anne give Green Gables to Fred and Diana? That place meant so much to Anne. How could she bear to part with it? Well, I hope this is the last sequel. It just doesn't work--sorry!
Reviewer Lynn C
Email Bessiewallis@Hotmail.com
Rating 2
Date March 7, 2000
This movie did not work. As a young girl and woman, Anne was impulsive and headstrong, and we all loved her for it. In this movie, those very qualities made her actions annoying,foolhardy and dangerous! See Anne, running from Green Gables to New York to France - and for what? If K. Sullivan had followed the books, an "Anne-ish" movie could have been developed with Anne and Gil (and isn't HE wonderful still?) in Avonlea, with the cosy towns folk we all loved around them. And what was the "relationship" Anne was having with Jack Garrison all about? That made zero sense. In fact, the entire plot made no sense. All Anne did by running off to Europe was put herself in mortal danger and get in the way of people trying to fight the war.
Gil would have made his way home without her endangering herself in all her efforts to find him and to "save" Garrison's child! And what did she mean when on the train with Gil and Jack, that she would always think of the baby as hers and Jack's? What rubbish!Megan and Jon have grown way past the age to play a young 20-something couple, although their romatic scenes were sweetly done. I will stick with the first 2 Annes and the original books- this production was a dud.
Reviewer Will
Email will.noiles@sympatico.ca
Rating 2.5
Date 07-03-2000
Anne 3 was a complete disappointment. I have not read the books so I cannot comment on how its different from the books but I can say its not consistent with Road to Avonlea. The last time we saw Gilbert, he had returned to Green Gables when Marilla took ill. He'd said Anne was too busy writing and looking after the children to come up.
After Marilla died, he'd told Rachel Lynde Anne would want her to keep Green Gables so the Keith children would have a home.
Suddenly, in Anne 3 Anne is finally returning to Green Gables, still single and unmarried, and its a shambles with some man named Mr. Harrison supposedly owning it. Where'd he come from? And what happened to Mrs. Lynde. We know from Road to Avonlea she moved in with Hetty King but we didn't know what happened to Green Gables.
Well Anne's back and is all upset over the state of Green Gables telling Diana she wished she could have done something. She could have come to Marilla's funeral at the very least.
She's back in Avonlea for several months and she see Mrs. Lynde once in Carmody. Anne once said Mrs. Lynde was a kindred spirit. So wouldn't it make sense she would see Mrs. Lynde when she returned or at the very least invite her to her wedding. And Rachel mentions Davey Keith has enlisted. Anne never met Davey Keith. And how did Rachel get into Carmody when her health isn't that well and she has never really strayed from Avonlea?
And the war action storyline. I won't even get into the loose ends left there.
All I can really say is that the storyline was completely contrary to what we were told in Road to Avonlea, Anne and Gilbert do not look like young 20 year olds anymore, Marilla's absence was very noticeable and regrettable and the cameo appearance by Mrs. Lynde was way too little. Kevin Sullivan would have been better off not making the film.
Reviewer Suzi
Email tlt66@accessv.com
Rating 4.3
Date March, 6th, 2000
Long before today I knew that our Anne was coming back, not just on stage, but back in our hearts. The word "kindred spirit" has been such a idealism in real life, at least my real life. The red-hair Anne girl is forever our dream, the dream of a fullness of the human soul.
I wasn't really expecting anything to surprise me or astonish me. After all, it has been a long time since the last Anne series was released. I have grown up and changed, and I believe so have Anne, Gil and all the others. Instead of finding our little Anne girl back, I was more looking for a spirit, a more mature, responsible and life-experienced spirit.
At the beginning of Anne 3, just like everybody else, I found lots of awkward scenes and settings. The music wasn't very Avonlea(one of my favorite parts in Anne movie!), the people seem to be too polite to each other(remember they used to tease around?), too many kisses(ah...) and the whole atmosphere is too tense and sensitive.
A kind of "feeling" is lacking there............though I am not quite sure what that is.
As the war begins, the main theme starts, and that is also where I found my Anne back. Anne never gives up her will. She never lets others get involve in her decisions and determinations. "Go lead the odds but not let odds lead you." That's really one thing I enjoy the most from Anne movies/books. Although this time not everything turns out to be perfect, we all see how she fights for life, and we all shall learn that.
Now movie ends, but my body and mind are still there staying in wars. I have never experienced any suffering in my life, not even a death of my relatives or friends. The worst taken-away ever was my dog's I suppose. I had a little wonder, why was Anne doing so much for Jack? She was attracted to him? So attracted that she can even run her life for him?
I still don't know what the "correct" answer is, but one thing I'm very certain is that Anne is willing to do anything for the people she love.
I may not have the chance to experience wars. I don't expect that too. But I wish one day I'll have the chance to fight. Fight for life, fight for the people I love and whom love me.