The animated version is better - and shorter

Rating: 5/10 (2 April 2017)

The animated Beauty and the Beast is one of the few movies I own on DVD*. I had high hopes for the live action version, but alas, it was not meant to be.
With a running time of 129 minutes, the new version is over 50% longer than the animated version – and it feels like it. The movie seems padded and I know I fell asleep at least once. (I kept imagining the Disney exec's telling the producers: "We've spent a fortune on sets, costumes and set dressings, and damn it, we want to get our money's worth.") Having said that, the production design IS gorgeous, but oftentimes seems to take the place of story and plot.
As to the cast, I've never understood Emma Watson's appeal, Dan Steven's Beast is mostly CGI (as obviously are the castle's inhabitants) so that leaves Luke Evans as a very good bad Gaston, and Josh Gas as his conflicted sidekick.
The movie briefly comes to life with the three big productions number of Belle, Gaston and especially Be Our Guest. The closing cast credits are equally good, but it's a long wait to get to them
Some of the CGI is surprisingly poor, such as the sequence towards the end when the Beast is swinging along the castle's rooftop. And, the cinematography is downright vertiginous in a couple of shots where the camera pans and tilts from the castle to the surrounding countryside.
See it now if you have kids or love the story. Otherwise, wait for the DVD, watch the three big musical numbers and the closing credits, and call it good.