I really wanted to love this film, some of the songs and characters are some of the best in any musical and the story is engrossing and very sad. I personally have not seen the stage show, so my comments are from reading the book (which was years ago and I can barely remember it) and on the films own merits.
Generally the film hits all the bases; the drama is spot on, he comedy is dabbed here and there and songs are in their truest form. Where the film really takes flight is on the lead performance by Hugh Jackman whom is both staggeringly honest and extremely well sung (even if his voice begins to grate towards the end). Anne Hathaway steals the entire show in the mere 10 minutes of screen time she has - and she owns it - in fact the film often loses its way without her. The young actress Samantha Barks is also very good and her version of the famous "on my own" is stunning.
But where there is good there is bad, Russel Crowe being the worst offender. He neither has the acting ability nor the vocal capacity to pull off the role he is given and his songs sound more strained than the other vocalists. Amanda Seyfried also seems miscast, she has no chemistry with her males leads and her vocals sound terrible by comparison of Hathaway's or Bark's.
In other areas the film generally works, the pitiful CGI at the start not withstanding the scenery is a sight to behold. Such a shame the director has no time to really have a look at it. The camera work is a little too erratic for my personal liking and barely gives the audience time to breathe between the mood changes.
This does sound more negative than positive, but the negatives luckily don't take too much away from the general enjoyment of the film. It will likely tug on many people's heart strings but for myself I think a better director could have made this so much more.
Generally the film hits all the bases; the drama is spot on, he comedy is dabbed here and there and songs are in their truest form. Where the film really takes flight is on the lead performance by Hugh Jackman whom is both staggeringly honest and extremely well sung (even if his voice begins to grate towards the end). Anne Hathaway steals the entire show in the mere 10 minutes of screen time she has - and she owns it - in fact the film often loses its way without her. The young actress Samantha Barks is also very good and her version of the famous "on my own" is stunning.
But where there is good there is bad, Russel Crowe being the worst offender. He neither has the acting ability nor the vocal capacity to pull off the role he is given and his songs sound more strained than the other vocalists. Amanda Seyfried also seems miscast, she has no chemistry with her males leads and her vocals sound terrible by comparison of Hathaway's or Bark's.
In other areas the film generally works, the pitiful CGI at the start not withstanding the scenery is a sight to behold. Such a shame the director has no time to really have a look at it. The camera work is a little too erratic for my personal liking and barely gives the audience time to breathe between the mood changes.
This does sound more negative than positive, but the negatives luckily don't take too much away from the general enjoyment of the film. It will likely tug on many people's heart strings but for myself I think a better director could have made this so much more.