I went into this really not expecting much, but... Surprisingly, it was actually quite good. Blu-ray: Excellent A:10 V:10

Rating: 8/10 (27 December 2012)

I was REALLY surprised by how much I liked this film! I almost didn't watch it because I read so many reviews where they said that Burton took the old Gothic show and made it REAL campy. But, that simply is not true. So, I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that the movie, although possibly entertaining, was probably not going to have much of a truly Gothic atmosphere and that it was likely going to be pretty corny.
Well... I am FRIGG'N glad that I did see it! I do not really care for a lot of Tim Burton's films, but I very much DO like a few of them. So, I was VERY pleasantly surprised that right from the start the film had a STRONG Gothic intensity that Burton retained through most of the movie. And... the comedy when it did come, was timed very well and it really was used fairly sparingly. Most of it shows up around the time when Barnabas comes back and the expected humorous things that happen to him when he tries to interact with 200 years in his future. This time, I did NOT get the impression that it was a run-of-the-mill Tim Burton film, where he was just kinda going through the motions. I could truly feel his heart solidly in this one, really bringing out the depth of feeling inside of Barnabas, and thus, our feelings for him.
Amazingly, Burton kept the tension and main focus on the underlying enmity between the two primary characters most of the time. And Depp's performance was absolutely perfect! He hit JUST the right amount of dryness when reacting to 'modern day' things; and he kept up a consistent, beautiful, dark, Gothic pathos which carried most of the film. I mean, you could REALLY relate to and feel for him, despite the eccentricity of the character; you have to be EXTREMELY good in order to be able to pull that off.
So, whether you are a Tim Burton Hater or not, please by all means give this movie a chance (assuming you like at least SOME fantasy elements in your films) You may be VERY surprised (as I was) that it is actually quite good and likely one of Burton's better movies...