The play's the thing but not here

Rating: 3/10 (29 July 2016)

After the film finished I asked myself where was Shakespeare's Macbeth as the text had been gutted and the main actors delivering the lines in a flat monotone distilling any passion and energy.
Director Justin Kurzel has taken a graphic novel approach in this blood thirsty play, it is less 300 but more Valhalla Rising as Scandinavian moodiness is over produced.
The film starts off promisingly as it sets out its stall with an exciting battle sequence that calls to mind Braveheart but at a lower budget, drawing in the crowd who may not normally take to the play but the Bard's words never arrive and when they do, the actors seemed to be embarrassed by it.
There are some nice visual touches and interpretative flair but the finished product does not feel like Shakespeare's Macbeth.