Humorous, offensive, scary, gory, and exciting

Rating: Null/10 (26 November 1999)

(Somewhat of a spoiler alert. But I won't give away anything vital) I have extremely mixed feelings about this movie. Since I like to end on a good note, I'll start with the bad parts: 1) Why, for God's sake, do religious people always have to be hypocrites or worse? It grates on my nerves that Christianity is always connected with hypocrisy and not with compassion. 2)Religious commentary aside, the movie is far too gory. It's not just the constant decapitation (I mean, what did you expect?) There is just way too much blood at inopportune moments. Particularly a rather gruesome kiss.
But there is much to like about this movie, including: 1) Johnny Depp. He is absolutely captivating with his perfect mix of Crane's bravery/cowardice. He pulls off the humor with flair, the romance with tenderness, and the action with adrenaline. 2)The scares: There are two or three moments in this movie of pure terror. In other "scary" movies, I've seen them fake you out when you think it will be scary. Here, they straightly play the mind-blowing horror. 3) I don't know much about cinemetography or directing, but whatever Tim Burton did, he did it well. The atmosphere draws you in from the start and leaves you breathless at the end. All in all, a wonderful movie with a few blemishes. Not for the weak of stomach.