Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't. This one didn't.

Rating: Null/10 (24 June 1999)

Many classic stories and epics have been updated to be set in different time periods than when they were originally intended. Branagh's "Hamlet" updated it to the nineteenth century. The 1995 French film "Les Miserables" had the classic story set in World War II. Christopher Lambert's "Beowulf" was set 2000 years hence in a post-apocalyptic future. Even Frankenheimer's "Island of Dr. Moreau" was relocated to present day.
This film seemed to start the trend, however. It's been set in present day Miami, and all in all, it's an excellent and absorbing film. The cast is great--especially Danes, DeCRAPio, and Leguizamo-- and the direction is crisp. The camera work is also dazzling, and it gives the familiar story of the Star-crossed lovers new colors.
But despite the pluses in this film, there is still just something odd about seeing an African-American male in dred locks carrying a gun (with the word "Sword" cleverly written on it) and saying, "Draw forth thou sword!" I almost wish that they had relocated this film back to the way Shakespeare had intended it-- in the dawn of the Rennaisance. Everything about this film and its camera work and all the odd things about it work fine for Shakespeare, except for the fact it's been relocated. I had to keep reminding myself that this film was set in modern day, because the language told me otherwise. When I first saw it, I was terribly confused because of the cars and the guns and the skyscrapers.... The way they handled it made me feel like I was watching a film taking place in the far past. There could have been some way that the director could have made it more "modern" and still keep the classic language. Instead, all the moderations just feel out of place.
This doesn't make it a bad movie, however. It's still mesmerizing. It's definitely a good date film (especially if you're a guy...expect your date to be crying in you shoulder), and it keeps your attention. Give it a try, and just keep in mind that it does take place in present day, even though it makes it really confusing. But that's okay. If you understand half of what they're talking about anyway, you're doing fine.
*** out of ****