Good overall, but something seems a bit off

Rating: 7/10 (17 March 2017)

As far as Disney's live action remakes go, I'd honestly have to say that this is my favourite one so far. I went into the cinema with pretty low expectations - I remembered how the 2015 remake of Cinderella had played out: it was an okay film, but it was just okay, and it didn't really do the original animated film much justice. That was what I was expecting with Beauty and the Beast.
It turned out a lot better than I thought it would. I really like how the Beast's character has been built up more in this version - they actually gave him a backstory, which was something that I had always felt was lacking in the original animated film. And a few plot holes from the original story are filled (i.e. how come nobody knows that there's a huge castle in the forest next to the village, why does nobody remember the prince, etc.). And the idea that the servants in the castle could have had family in the village was something that honestly never even occurred to me whilst watching the animated film. In the original movie, the Beast's castle just seems so displaced from the rest of the village, it is honestly very difficult to remember that it isn't that far away from Belle's hometown. That definitely is not the case in the remake.
However, something just seemed very... off. And when I got halfway through the movie, I realized what it was. I didn't feel like I was watching Emma Watson playing Belle. I felt like I was watching Emma Watson playing Emma Watson.
Perhaps it is just because I am so used to seeing her in roles similar to Hermione in Harry Potter, but even her performance in Noah reminded me of her portrayal of Belle here...
I would still recommend seeing this if you are a fan of the animated movie, or even if you're just a fan of the fairy-tale (or just fairy-tales in general). It is a very visually beautiful movie. But if you're expecting something that is completely true to the original film, you may leave disappointed. A few things have been added in - the basic plot stays the same, but it is not a perfect copy of the animated movie.