Boring and the Bland

Rating: 5/10 (15 May 2017)

Beauty and the Beast is another utterly pointless cash-grab of a remake. While not a bad movie, it is nowhere near as good as the original. Somehow, this film is nowhere near as emotional despite the fact that it involves real tangible human beings instead of cartoons. The new cast is hit and miss. Josh Gad and Kevin Kline provide some much needed charm and levity to the film. On the flip-side, the leads (specifically Emma Watson) are spectacularly underwhelming. Emma Watson simply does not look, sing, or act the part. The movie plays like a pale imitation of the original. Ultimately the whole thing is brought down by the script. It is essentially the same script as the original, but there are certain changes thrown in simply for the purpose of change. There are multiple sub-plots added which just come off as unnecessary filler. What makes matters worse, is that the film cuts out important story beats from the original in order to make room for the new unnecessary sub-plots. Other than some solid visuals and performances this movie doesn't offer much. Overall, Beauty and the Beast (2017) isn't good, and it isn't bad. It's just pointless.