Worse than "Plan 9 From Outer Space"....

Rating: 3/10 (12 September 2010)

I understand the basic motive of the producers of this thing-a-ma-bob, based on the work of Shakespeare, who based his upon other works of the period. It was a grand effort, but it fails miserably. To update this classic story to modern, hip-hop times and still keep the Elizabethan English in the script is a sort of a death warrant in and of itself. It is clumsy, corny, and a bit superfluous. It stumbles over its own two left feet. I suffered through one viewing of it, praying that it would soon be over. After what felt like an eternity, it finally was over. I would never want to sit through this movie again. It lacked character, substance, and credibility. Plus, there is a great deal of otherwise terrific talent wasted along the way. Brian Dennehy and Paul Sorvino would be worth the price of admission alone, were it another, more credible vehicle. But they come off looking like fools in this play in search of an identity for itself. Leonardo does the best he can to make this thing work, but...terrific actor that he is...he simply does not have the depth to pull this one off. The direction was fast paced and intense, and that was one of the problems with it. The actors had no real opportunity to let the characters come to life and to allow the script to breathe. The result...it moves at too quick a pace, it never quite settles in, and the actors sound as if they are reciting their lines, as opposed to allowing the lines to be delivered at a credible, believable pace. The modernization of the story is also a sore point. To bring this story into the age of greed and moral degradation tends to over shadow the point...that this is a story of love and of just plain rivalry between two families that do not see eye to eye. Romeo and Juliet pay the price for the foolish attitudes of their families, a situation that rings as clear to-day as it did way back in the days of old. The producers wanted to take the story a step beyond "West Side Story", which was also a variation on the Romeo/Juliet tragedy...but it failed in this modern day translation. "Plan 9 from Outer Space" was badly done because it had virtually no budget, and dealt with the death of a principal cast member during filming. This one had the budget, but it was still badly done, badly written, and badly executed. Maybe another production company will undertake the mantle and do a more respectable job.