Absolutely terrible...extremely disappointing.

Rating: 3/10 (29 December 2007)

I went into the theater with high hopes for this film. I am usually a Tim Burton fan, and a Johnny Depp fan, and I like dark films and musicals. It seemed as though I would love it. However, in order for a musical to be good, the lead character should really be played by somebody who can sing. Johnny Depp is no such somebody. I suppose I should have been prepared for that, after hearing bits and pieces from the trailer, but I wasn't, and when he sang his first line, I was already cringing. Even Johnny's acting didn't seem to be full-hearted. Maybe it's because the character was so dead that it would be hard to act, but I just wasn't impressed.
On to the blood. Oh my goodness. I was definitely not prepared for the blood. I went to see this with my 18-year-old brother, and even he squirmed when the first throat was slit. No, "slit" really isn't the right word...more like "mutilated," "gouged," or something else along those lines. After the first throat mutilation, I could barely watch the others. Even now, as I think about the movie, I can practically taste blood in my mouth.
The sets. OH MY GOODNESS. Can someone PLEASE pry Tim Burton AWAY from the studios and the green screens??? I liked the parts of London that looked real, but some of it was just obviously green screen, especially during some of the songs. It's like when he could have shot "Sleepy Hollow" IN Terrytown, and instead decided to film the movie in a studio in London.
Anything good? Yes, actually. I liked Helena Bonham Carter's portrayal of Mrs. Lovett. She was cute, charming, and actually could sing. The same with Anthony, except his look of adoration for Johanna while he sang about stealing her kind of creeped me out. The girl who played Johanna had a tremendously sweet voice. She was adorable, but rather expressionless. Toby was probably the best part of the film. He was adorable, incredibly talented, and just charming to watch.
The entire movie, I was waiting for some sort of explanation for Sweeney Todd's hatred towards absolutely everything. What happened to him in prison? What was he accused of to send him there? There was no background information, no motive for him to kill (except for Judge Turpin). Basically, this movie is a crappy rip off of The Count of Monte Cristo. Yeah yeah, getting revenge will come back and get you, yada yada. I think it could have been good if Johnny had been replaced, or at least dubbed, and if the unnecessary blood had been cut out.
Let me just close with this: If you liked this movie, then you are probably a die hard fan of Johnny Depp/Tim Burton, or you are just really strange. Or you are confusing this movie with a good movie that you saw somewhere else.