Phenomenal Cast

Rating: Null/10 (12 April 2008)

First of all, I must say that I have not seen the oldest production of Pride and Prejudice...only the one with Firth and this one. I am rather torn of which of the two are better.
First, the length is to be spoken of. When I first saw the previews for this movie I was instantly excited but then quickly realized than in the normal length of feature films, there is no way that they could cover good ground. It would have to be at least as long as Titanic or Pearl Harbor (3 hours+) to even touch all the important points. I realize that the oldest of two had the luxury of episodes and that most people would not have gone to see a 6 hour long movie. However, I found that there were times in the movie in which they wasted time. I sat there thinking...STOP...you have so much ground to cover, keep it moving. And though I know the reason, I thought it was insufficient. In order to balance, I found they spoke way too fast and moved too quickly from scene to scene. You are hardly getting the point of the past scene before they are headed into the next. Pace should be thought of and considered...
Next, was the casting. I have to say that, for the most part, the casting was excellent. In fact, I have little criticism at all. I didn't like Wickam. I thought he looked too much like a Backstreet Boy or something. That's just my opinion. But Matthew and Keira did beautifully. I even like that Matthew was a bit warmer than Firth. He played more of a shy, socially awkward type instead of cold and arrogant. Donald Sutherland was genius, and Judy Dench was amazing. Even Poor Mr. Collins was a perfect match! I laughed every time he was in the shot.
All in all, I thought this was an awesome movie with a phenomenal cast. And I guess my only criticism of it was that it didn't use its time wisely. When you have so much ground to cover, don't idle with nonsensical takes.