Director: Bill Condon Starring: Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Audra McDonald, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Ian McKellen, Emma Thompson Studio: Walt Disney Pictures Genre(s): Musical Rated: PG (For some action violence, peril and frightening images) |
If there is a core problem behind the existence of this new
version of “Beauty & the Beast” it is that, quite frankly, it is living in
the shadows of perfection. This has been
billed as a live action remake of the 1991 animated classic that is considered
by many to be the best film Disney has ever made, is loved through the
generations, and even managed to become the first animated feature to get a
nomination for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. That is an act I would not wish to follow up,
personally. If that is the core problem
though then the critical problem may be that it spends so much time reminding
us that the original movie exists. I
rarely have opinions about movies before I’ve actually seen them. When people ask what looks good I simply tell
them that there is no way to know until I see it. Previews lie and marketing is an intrusive
salesman, so I remain unopinionated until the final product is upon us.
With this I had reasons to be concerned. Again, partly because the movie this is remaking
is perfection in and of itself. Also, if
you didn’t want to reference Disney at all, there is a classic French version
directed by Jean Cocteau, which was as perfect an adaptation of the original
fable as you could get. Bottom line,
this new version was going to suffer one way or another. Unlike “Cinderella” or “Alice in Wonderland,”
the top of the hill had been reached twice, and there was no way to reach it
again. God bless Bill Condon though; he
certainly tried. He obviously loved the
material he was given and did his best to bring it alive. The wisest thing he did was cast Emma Watson
as Belle. Though she has always
struggled to break out of her Harry Potter beginnings, her performance as Belle
might actually make people forget she was once Hogwarts brightest witch, as her
performance here is charming, loving, and even a little rough around the edges
(in the best possible way).
She anchors a movie that is filled with other talented
actors. Sadly, other casting choices
seem rather odd. I’m sure it sounded
good on paper to have prime talent like Ian McKellen, Emma Thompson, and Ewan
McGregor voice the various castle objects, but all too often their voices
become a distraction as we try to figure out who the voice is behind the iconic
character. Had this been a full-blown
animation the animators could at least make the characters look like the actors
and present a seamless act, but these are some of the limitations you must deal
with in live action. Dan Stevens does
manage to bring some heart and soul to his performance of the Beast, but he is
buried is so much technology that getting through it to feel the emotions
becomes a much bigger problem than most will want to endure. Luke Evans as Gaston never finds the
transformative moment where he goes from self-centered pig to full blown
murderer, and, as such, the movie seems confused on how seriously it should
take him.
The only other performance that stands out as being
noteworthy is Josh Gad as LeFou, who does help the bad guy, but has enough
sense to notice who the real beast in the story is when the proper time
comes. Not that the cast is entirely to
blame. The musical numbers are largely
from the animated film (with a few new ones added for Oscar consideration), but
they seem so stiff and pale this time around.
It really was a shock to see the perfect chorography of the original
film slowed down to the degree it is. In
the original movie, everyone was moving so fluidly, that to come to this and
watch scenes where characters largely stand around and sing…well, it made me
wonder if Condon had thought to maybe at least check out the Broadway
production? Speaking of which, none of
the Broadway numbers show up here. Some
of tunes appear in the background score and there were plenty of opportunities
to include them, but for whatever reason none appear. I don’t even know why they decided to make
this in the first place.
Now, I should be completely honest and admit that, yes,
there’s a VERY good chance this movie would have been more enjoyable had the
animated film not existed! It’s one of
those things that nag at the back of a critic’s mind, to be comparing to the
far superior product, and have to stop and ask yourself if that is even fair. Taken on its own, maybe this version of “Beauty
& the Beast” isn’t that bad? Well,
of course if we ignore the original movie this is a solid movie in its own
right. Again, though, it goes out of its
way to remind you that the original exists.
It tries to recreate little moments the first film had with little success. The studio may claim the ballroom scene is
supposed to be new, but if that is the case, why do they wear the iconic dress
and suit from the original? For that
matter, why recreate scenes that animation has much more freedom to make lively
in the first place?
I have no doubt kids will enjoy “Beauty & the Beast.” I have no doubt it will stroke nostalgia for people who remember seeing the original as a kid. I know I must man up and assign a score to this thing, but I know it’s not going to tell the whole story (this is why you should read the reviews you reference). If the original hadn’t existed I could see me giving this a three and half to four-star grade. However, the original does exist. You can’t undo it. Making this version live action doesn’t make it more relevant than the animated one. For all the hype and waiting with baited breath, the sad fact is you could have been watching a better version of this movie for the last twenty years should you have taken time out of your day to do so. In the original Cogsworth says a corny joke about a rusty old hall, snarking “if it aint broke, don’t fix it.” My advice to Disney from this point on would be “if it ain’t broke, don’t remake it.”
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CONSUMER ADVICE |
Parents, unlike the first movie, this one does require some parental guidance. The violence is much stronger, a little bloodier, and there is a subplot involving the plague that is likely to scare young kids. Rumors of blatant homosexual content seems to have been blown wildly out of proportion though. Recommended for ages 8 and up.
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