I freely admit that I did not sit through the whole thing. I was being driven mad by "comfortable" stadium chairs that felt like the 9th hour in coach on a non-stop to Cairo after the Trinculo scene. BTW, not a Russ Brand fan (who plays Trinculo), so I shaved a star for that bit of weak casting, add it back in if you are at all charmed by him. Since he always plays himself, I had no use for his hammy interpretation. Great to see Chris Cooper thrown in; lovely surprise. The no-kidding cast carries pretty much all the weight. However, the most important thing is the interpretation of the verse and THAT is very good and easy to follow. Again - the credit goes to the director for providing the unified feel for the actors to shoot for.Looks like they put a LOT of greens work into dressing some hillsides and landscapes. I had no trouble hearing the dialog,as another reviewer mentioned but personally found the soundtrack somehow not in the right vibe for me. The didgeridoo particularly seemed the wrong effect to me. A very good interpretation of Shakespeare's story and a very smart idea to turn Prospero into Prospera. More interesting story.
Review of The Tempest
