Beauty and the Beast: A Predictable And Safe But Fun Rehash Of The 1991 Classic
Director Bill Condon's remake of the beloved original Disney film, released in 1991, has just enough charming wit to get past some of the exasperating moments that do happen now and than. "Beauty and the Beast" has breathtaking production design that continually wowed me throughout. The vibrant colors portrayed on screen almost stole the whole movie all together, while a lackluster script tries to make us care for the characters on screen.
An almost to by the numbers story, of a young woman named Belle who falls in love with a terrifying Beast, while the overly arrogant Gaston tries to win Belle's love. The characters here are almost too faithful to the original, as Gaston (Luke Evans) almost over plays the role, and as Belle (Emma Watson) auto-tunes her way through the film. LeFou (Josh Gad) adds a refreshing and modern look on his character, that warrants a good amount of laughs throughout.
But it's the Beast (Dan Stevens) who is front and center here, who's unfortunately inconsistent visual effects, put a damper on some of the scenes. There are some angles where the Beast looks terrifyingly terrific, but others where it looks extremely awkward and almost dated. It's a shame because there are some excellent quiet moments that give our characters some depth.
Kevin Kline who overacts his role a bit as Maurice, does have a few good scenes with his daughter Belle, where it adds more profundity to the characters at hand. Besides the amazing production design, this is where the film shines. The spectacle of the song and dance is fun to say the least as Lumiere(Ewan Mcgregor) the dancing candle stick and Cogsworth(Ian McKellen) the grouchy clock and other gorgeously animated tangible objects come to life, but it's the subtle moments with the Beast and Belle that kept me invested. From their conversations about literature, to the wonderful back and forth about Shakespeare, its a lot of fun to watch.
But overall, its a mixed bag. I can't say that I wouldn't recommend it, as hardcore Disney fans will weep their way through the film, but anyone who's faithful to the original, it's a bit of a bore to watch. No one's acting blew me away nor the new songs added kept me humming throughout my day. The visual effects are inconsistent but the script now and then did keep me just engaged enough to make it a pleasurable experience. My advice, stick to the original, but if you want a visually breathtaking, by the numbers remake, it's not a bad choice for some escapism entertainment.
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