A movie that stands on its own, even in the shadow of a literary masterpiece.

Rating: 8/10 (18 August 2013)

It's not often, when a director is able to a reinvent an iconic story, and make us look at a well-known piece of literature in a different light. Director Baz Luhrmann does just that. With the help of a superb cast that includes; Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes, John Leguizamo among others, Luhrmann retells one of the most popular and tragic love stories of all time.
The plot and dialog are authentically Shakespearean. However, Luhrmann dares to make a risky move by transporting the events of the movie into the late 1990's. The horses become flashy cars, the dagger and swords are replaced by uniquely elegant and fearsome pistols and the streets of old Verona look more like the concrete jungles of Los Angeles, in this place called Verona Beach. This move by the director is bold to say the least, but the risk sure pays off, creating one of the more original movies in the full sense of the word.
This movie is fast, but does not race to the end, giving the viewer an opportunity to enjoy every scene. It is flashy and colorful, yet not overbearing or pretentiously grandiose. It is fun and tragically sad at the same time. The two most important aspects of this movie for me, were; precise attention to details, (costumes, sets, cars, weaponry,) and the fact that the movie, although being a serious one, does not take itself too seriously.
The characters of the movie are vibrant and extravagant. Romeo and Juliet are young, naive, passionate and madly in love, just as they are in the play. Tybalt and Mercutio steal the movie in my opinion. They are eccentric, flashy, arrogant and aggressive yet graceful. They are the kind of characters that you want to know more about, even after their roles have expired.
Not everyone will be able to appreciate this movie, just like not everyone will be excited about listening to Shakespearean style language for 2 hours (I recommend watching this movie with subtitles.) But those who do, will truly enjoy this original film, which manages to do what most movies only wish they could.
It stands on its own.