Improves on just about everything that was enjoyable about the 1991 film

Rating: 8/10 (23 March 2017)

Beauty and the Beast is the live action remake of the classic 1991 Disney animated film. Based on the French fairy tale of the same name, this adaptation is so far the best live action update of a Disney film.
In 18th century France, a beautiful young woman named Belle (Emma Watson) is imprisoned by a savage Beast (Dan Stevens) inside his giant castle. Unbeknownst to Belle, the Beast is actually a Prince who has had his physical form altered by a curse. The curse will only be broken once the Beast wins her love in return, otherwise he will remain a monster forever.
This version improves on just about everything that was enjoyable about the 1991 film. The songs sound better, the set design looks better, and even the pacing feels better. The film moves at a breathless speed, but never so much that the story is hard to follow. Emma Watson is perfectly cast as Belle, not merely for her physical appearance, but for her range as an actress. The film even has some moments of dark humour and the occasional self-referential quip about certain situations the characters may be going through at someone else's expense, similar to Disney's previous live action adaptation of The Jungle Book.
I rate it 8/10