Lacks the all round magic and charm of the animated film

Rating: 4/10 (11 October 2017)

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning
Belle (Emma Watson) is a young woman who lives in a stiflingly boring little town in France, with a pretty pre-determined future ahead of her. When her eccentric father Maurice (Kevin Kline) goes missing, she tracks him down to an ancient castle, where he's been taken captive by the resident Beast (Dan Stevens), who's been living under a curse imposed by a conjuror who wants him to discover the beauty within himself, and will only be free of it when someone loves him for who he is. He makes Belle take the place of her father, and this sets them both on a course of discovery and magic.
It seems to be a current trend for animated Disney classics to be getting live action, what with this and the recent Jungle Book adaptation, and since everything else seems to be getting remade, why not jump on the bandwagon? There is some undeniable potential in a LA version of the animated 1991 Disney film, and Bill Condon has not done a terrible job of doing so, just one that is quite notably devoid of the charm and joy of the original, and can never quite sweep you along with the same sense of wonder.
An all star cast, comprised of a load of hot, young talent in the main roles and a load of seasoned, accomplished actors in the supporting roles, add to the veneer and sleekness of it all, and aesthetically it's all very nice. The special effects, costume designs and production values are all marvellous, and combine to create a visually splendorous experience that sets the senses on fire, if nothing else. In spite of this, though, it all just feels like a tepid, watered down version of the original, a definite case of more is less.
The stench of wasted potential is hard to blot out. **