Tim Burton is Back in Full Force

Rating: 7/10 (15 January 2008)

Sweeney Todd returns to London years after his wife was taken from him and committed suicide. Now, with the help of macabre friend Mrs. Lovett, he will seek his revenge on all of London... but specifically the judge who stole his wife from him. At the same time, the judge has a new captive, who is the love interest of Todd's young comrade.
I have had my doubts about Tim Burton in recent years. He was always amazing and had a good way to mix the dark, Gothic themes with wackiness. All through the 1980s and 90s he was unstoppable. Then, "Planet of the Apes" came out and was a knife through my heart. After this, he was hit and miss. "Big Fish" was great while "Corpse Bride" was bland. Now, with "Sweeney Todd", Burton finds his groove: the dark blossoms here under his command.
If you don't like musicals, you won't like this film. There really isn't much dialog in the film at all. And if you don't like blood, you may not like this film, because there's plenty of it. And I have to give Burton credit for the use of computer animation here: the blood is very fake, as are several shots of the streets of London. But he presents them in a way where I feel he tried to make them look how they look, rather than presenting rubbish and calling it art. So I didn't mind.
Johnny Depp shines, and this is a nice role for Alan Rickman. I think Sacha Baron Cohen was especially notable, being humorous but also coming across very professional. And the singing was quite good. I mean, it was actually quite good. And the songs were a good mix of Broadway and dark humor... much better than the same old point of view from "Rent".
I recently watched a BBC production of "Sweeney Todd", and the differences are striking. The BBC had a darker, more nihilistic Todd, whereas this one was more vengeance oriented (and there was more of a love story). I like how they varied, and they co-exist nicely -- being so different, one is not "better" than the other, just a different angle. I strongly suggest both are watched by people who love the story.
I don't see this being a film I would watch often, as it is a musical and one must be fairly involved to follow the story (at least for the first few viewings). But it is exceptional, and I think Burton was the right man for the job.