It's not often that I've seen a movie three times and I can't give it a rating any higher then a 6.

I think I really tried and forced myself to like this since I can appreciate the modernization of this old story and the creativeness that was attempted.

Maybe it's unfair to say this movie is hard to follow. The dialogue is obviously a challenge for any inexperienced viewer but the story is familiar and each scene makes sense even if you're struggling to understand what each actor says. That being said, it's nothing special. Each time I finish watching this movie I just feel like it's ok. There is no gut wrenching impact it has left on me and I can probably affirmatively confirm this now after the third viewing. It's an interesting movie, a bold, perhaps unnecessary, punk-like remake that swaps swords with guns and also attempting humour. A part of movie history to say the least.

As a 12 yo girl I don't understand Shakespeare one bit. It's like a different language that u just get bored of trying to translate. But this movie - I understood every bit of it. And I loved it. Why is there all this hate? Especially for Leonardo, his performance was beautiful and I'm not just saying that bcs of his face but it was genuinely moving and Clare Danes was great in it too. It's not the greatest movie I've ever seen no. But in 2021 I don't care if this movie is gonna change my life or not or if it's a masterpiece or a flop, I wanna watch a movie that I'll be entertained by and moved by. And that was this movie.

Now I like Baz Luhrmann, I loved Moulin Rouge! and Australia was a much better film than people give credit for. However, I was disappointed with this version of Romeo and Juliet. I really liked the 1968 film with Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey though that did have one or two problems.

Starting with the redeeming qualities, the film does look amazing. The cinematography is beautiful and the scenery is gorgeous. I also liked how the Capulet party was staged, all grand and lavish and Claire Danes's white swan dress was stunning. Harold Perrineau was perfect as Mercutio yes the singing wasn't great but it was for comedy, and Pete Postlethwaite was a noble and sympathetic Friar Lawrence. Miriam Margoyles is a fine actress and brought a real sense of maternal instinct to the role of Juliet's nurse. Regarding the character though, she could have been developed more, seeing as she was the main source of motherly affection in the play I would have liked to have seen that come across more. Also I would have liked to have seen more of Paris, a smaller role but a significant one. And Leonardo Di Caprio does have a boyish charm that compensates for any thoughts of whether he was too young. I liked how fast it moved too, it was almost exhilarating in pace, and I think the film makers did that purposefully to empathise how rushed Romeo and Juliet's relationship was. Plus the ending is very tragic as it should be.

However, there are other aspects that didn't quite work. I have no problem with a film that is updated, it worked in West Side Story, it worked in Carmen Jones, but it does feel jarring when the script is not modernised, with a poetic and archaic sounding script mixed by exhilarating non-stop action merging on screen it doesn't quite work. Plus when Benvolio says "Put up your swords" I personally felt "put down your guns"(as they were guns not swords here) would have been better. Baz Luhrmann's direction was also a disappointment, sometimes in the early scenes it was so over the top that I forgot I was watching a version of Romeo and Juliet and thought I was watching a flash cartoon. (I love animation don't get me wrong but that feel to this film doesn't bode well with me). The soundtrack I had mixed feelings about. I liked the music at the beginning and in the balcony scene, I liked the use of Mozart's Symphony Number 25 and I liked the use of Liebestod from Wagner's Tristan and Isolde sung brilliantly by Leontyne Price, however some of the more contemporary songs felt somewhat intrusive. Claire Danes looked gorgeous, but her acting was rather unconvincing in places, her crying for instance felt very melodramatic and (please don't take this the wrong way) reminded me of a spoilt rich girl who cried when she didn't get her way. Finally, I have nothing personal against John Leguizamo though I am not fond of him either, but I thought he badly overdid the character of Tybalt, too much of the tough guy attitude and not enough of the grace and coolness of the Tybalt of the play and the 1968 version.

Overall, watchable but disappointing. It could be worse though, you could be watching that animated film with seals taking the roles of the Shakespearean characters, that did a much worse job at respecting(more like disrespecting) the material. 5/10 Bethany Cox