Opening Ceremony Reviews: Weird but Fun

After grandiosity of Beijing, London opts for goofy, fanciful
By Mark Russell,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 28, 2012 5:57 AM CDT

After Zhang Yimou's spectacular cast of thousands opened the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the pressure was on London to have an opening ceremony at least as memorable. And after seeing Oscar-winning Danny Boyle's $42 million spectacle, the verdict is ... well, weird. But entertaining:

  • The Hollywood Reporter calls Boyle a "ballsy" choice, saying his opening was "a unique take on large-canvas nation-themed spectacle that is likely to go down as one of the more eccentric and memorable kickoffs in the Games' history."

  • The New York Times said the opening was "a wild jumble of the celebratory and the fanciful" that presented Britain as "a nation secure in its own post-empire identity, whatever that actually is."
  • Five stars from the Guardian. "It didn't make a bit of sense, but what a thrilling spectacle and what fun."
  • At least one Brit wasn't impressed, though. Conservative MP Aidan Burley tweeted the show was "leftie multi-cultural crap." He quickly apologized, saying he had been "misunderstood," writes Sky News.
(More 2012 London Olympics stories.)

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