Mike's Review: A very "unique" movie. Not my kind of movie by any stretch of the imagination, but I figured it was a movie that I should see at least once. Going into the movie I had no idea what to expect, I have never read the book and had no idea what the story was all about. What I did know, was what I had seen from the trailer, what all the critics were saying, and that it had Tobey Maguire and Leonardo DiCaprio in it. To be fair, I really didn't care for the cinematography but the over the top mansions and parties were something to be seen. The story kept you watching the movie and it never felt like you were sitting there for well over two hours. It was like watching a circus, most of the time and the theme to the circus was a romance novel.
Best Scene: Perhaps more flowers.
Mike's Rating: Matinee, just because all the glitz and glam would be to much on a smaller screen.
Bean's Review: One of the better period movies, except for the influence of the 21st
century choreographics. These were a bit over the top. The opulence,
greed, and waste of that era were overwhelming and the movie did not
portray any
of the characters that would emote sympathy or empathy from the
viewer. Leonardo DiCaprio’s acting kept my attention, as typically I do
not care for tragic love stories. Although a long movie, the acting and
story-line did not make the viewer feel that the movie dragged. An
entertaining movie, but not one in which the viewer had any feelings
toward the characters. I felt as though I was just watching
the movie as opposed to being involved with the movie.
Best Scene: Gatsby’s initial smile in meeting Nick.
.
The first 30 minutes of this movie is one of the worst movie experiences I've ever had. It was an incoherant mess with too many close ups and I was starting to think the movie should have been titled: NICK CARROWAY. It's been years since I walked out of a movie but I was seriously considering it but DiCaprio/Gatsby showed up at just at the right moment.
ReplyDeleteOnce Gatsby was in the story the movie rebounded phenomenally. I actually enjoyed the rest of the story as it finally gained coherance and an interesting narrative.
I would recommend that a potential viewer wait for the DVD and fast forward through most of the first half hour as it could easily be cut out and not missed.