Pretentiously poetic, lacking depth and cold like ice!

Rating: 1/10 (19 December 2015)

This new adaptation of Macbeth got excited me weeks before and when I saw the cast, Fassbender and Cotillard, I got excited even more! Because they are just great and I am a fan of both. However, from the first minute, the film couldn't catch the viewer's attention fully, because it lacks emotion, depth and thrill. This is not an exactly drama film, because there is not much of it. You can see this even in the first battle of the film. A pretentious way of film making just to be seen poetic and artistic. The movie visually looks beautiful at some moments, but those images serve nothing. Fassbender and Cotillard make us surprised by their "low key" performances, so please don't expect any kind of tour-de-force acting from them. If you do, you are seriously disappointed. In the film, there is no character depth at all and the dramatization of the events was totally ineffective. For example, a character is portrayed evil, but you have no idea or clue why he or she is evil? A character is portrayed brave, but you have no idea, why he is such a brave man? It is mostly because there is no tension which should increase gradually like Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece Throne of Blood. As expected, this is not a "war" film. If you expect a Kingdom of Heaven like film, then you are seriously disappointed. I had not any problem with unusual monologues/dialogs in the film, but some may find it hard to follow. It doesn't ruin the reality of the film which is a success. Especially, in the second act, the film becomes more pretentious with the over the top and "poetic" visuals and just leaves you with no emotion. This new Macbeth is a film lacking heart and soul in the material caused by its pompous narration.