An Old Chemistry Of Burton And Depp Do Not Work Always

Rating: 1/10 (2 May 2008)

Tim Burton is a great filmmaker. He can really shine in his warped, wry, painfully gory movies. Johnny Depp is a very deep and mature master of acting. He is the star. But sometimes, something wrong happens. Like in this much hyped movie. Sweeny Todd starts very well, then it gets sickly sick, then simply gory, then unbearable, then horribly terrible. No, this ain't about singing. After all, Depp sings much like David Bowie, Helen Carter Bonham boasts of quite strong falsetto, and even Alan Rickman is not devoid of depth and imagination. The songs are sometimes too banal and prolonged, but this is not so bad. What is really poor is the plot. You never feel sorry for poor Todd and his wife's fate, as well as his daughter's future. The situation balances between complacency and stupidity. And then, all of a sudden, Sweeny starts lacerating throats of many innocent men, with all that blood gushing so thick that Burton comes closely to Quentin Tarantino with his total lack of any taste. Depp is vapid, miserable and extremely poor all throughout the film, as well as Bonham who simply is laughable. The same may be said about wholly weak part of Sasha Baron Cohen and his character. All this is forgettable, as well as the line of Johanna, Todd's daughter, and her future. This part of the script is hugely underdeveloped and thus begs wanting. Blood is all galore, no real script, no deeper efforts, no persuasive performance  the movie is a large waste of your time, your money and patience. It only proves that great men often fail and flop most miserably.