High pitched boredom.

Rating: 2/10 (22 December 2007)

In all honesty, I've never been a huge fan of Tim Burton's work; so, maybe I'm not the best person to be reviewing this film? Either way, I do enjoy some of Burton's films. I've always thought Big Fish was colorful, Sleepy Hollow captured a great atmosphere, and the first two Batman flicks he made were great; but, I feel his other films slip into that, "How awkward can I make this one?" mentality. Sweeney Todd falls into that latter category of awkward, and stressed films. I saw it tonight (opening night), and I left with a headache. Too many actors who couldn't sing, and who were singing in ridiculously high pitches. The songs and music seemed to be forced into the film, rather than being used to propel and display the story as they do in most musicals. It was as if all of the actors decided to randomly make up tunes to sing their lines to. Lastly, I felt like the movie could have ended an hour sooner than it did; and, I don't mean that as an attack at the film. The story seemed shallow, and it seemed like the final outcome could have been reached an hour earlier than it was. All in all, Sweeney Todd seems like an attempt to please Burton's fans with a lot of macabre eye candy, rather than suitable context. Wait until it goes on DVD, unless you're really excited to see Johnny Depp not dressed as a pirate.