Uneven film, with notable performances

Rating: 5/10 (7 March 2000)

"R+J", when it works, works very well. When it doesn't, it's ludicrous. It boasts some fine performances, including that of Leonardo DiCaprio (remember when we were all falling over ourselves to praise him? He hasn't changed; the material he's been offered lately is simply not up to his earlier films), Harold Perrineau Jr., Miriam Margolyes, Pete Postelthwaite, Brian Dennehy, Paul Sorvino (okay, I'm biased in favor of those last two). Claire Danes, for some reason, doesn't work here; like DiCaprio, she's better than she's usually given credit for, but the usual fire is absent here. Don't even get me started about John Leguizamo, because he is just plain ludicrous. Tybalt is supposed to be a badass, and Leguizamo cannot even remotely carry that off. I kept wondering why Perrineau didn't just stuff him into a locker and be done with it.
The movie works best when it underplays and gives the audience a chance to enjoy finely nuanced performances. When it goes for the usual sensory-overload so prized by Fox, it resembles a bad episode of "The A-Team" (if that isn't being redundant).