Beauty
and the Beast
She’s hot!
He’s not!
Is there any way this beast can be charming and lovable enough to win
her heart and your ticket buying cash?
Emma Watson stars as Belle – a headstrong, intelligent gal
who dreams of leaving this small village in France where she is
considered to be the weird girl because she likes to read books.
However, a local war hero, Gaston (Luke Evans), wants to make her his
wife because he only sees her tremendous beauty. That’s what
happens when you are a vain, vacuous, selfish fool.
Belle’s father (Kevin Kline), ends up lost in the woods one
night and comes across an old, crumbling castle. He’s quickly
captured by a massive Beast (Dan Stevens), who turns out to be a prince
under the spell of a witch who condemned him to this life and this look
unless he can become beautiful enough on the inside to find true love.
What
will happen when Belle comes to find her father?
Beauty and the Beast is a true,
classic musical, but it’s hard not to compare it to the
animated version that stole your heart years ago.
While all of the cool people want us to praise Watson for her
performance, the true star of the show is Evans. He perfectly shows the
growing ugliness inside Gaston as we watch him go from innocent, but
annoying pretty boy, to darkly evil villain willing to stop at nothing
to get what he wants.
Evans is full of comic verve early on, but delivers a shockingly scary
performance as we march to the melodramatic final act. Of all of the
actors, he not only follows the tone set by director Bill Condon, but,
you can argue, he sets the tone most of the time.
Condon never lets Beauty and the Beast stray from
being a traditional musical, and often finds little ways to allude to
some of the great musicals in movie history. While most simply will get
lost in the grandeur and beauty of the singing and dancing, hardcore
musical fans will get a bit of a kick if they spot the moments.
Yet, if you have seen the classic Disney animated version, two items
stick out.
First, no matter how hard Emma Thompson might try, she can never ever
never ever be as awesome as Angela Lansbury was as Mrs. Potts. Thompson
probably would agree with us. Mrs. Potts is one of those characters who
lives in the hearts of millions, and it’s darn near
impossible to imagine her being any different.
Second, The Beast isn’t cuddly enough. Granted, this is a
more adult, frightening take on the classic tale, but it’s
hard to see The Beast winning The Beauty. He doesn’t become
lovable enough and the chemistry between the two characters never truly
soars.
It’s still a wonderful movie, but watch out if you want to
take the little ones. The final act is full of danger, some violence
and peril beyond what most small kids can handle.
Beauty and the Beast is rated PG
for some action violence, peril and frightening images.
129 Minutes
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