A little too much blood perhaps

Rating: 7/10 (5 February 2008)

This was an excellent movie version of Sondheim's brilliant operetta. I thought the casting was impeccable and the cinematography was perfection. The time and tale fit Burton to a "T" and he, them.
I have two minor complaints which kept me from giving the film an "8" instead of a "7".
A couple of Bonham-Carter's numbers were sung a bit too softly and were almost throw-aways instead of character-defining moments. I got the feeling though that she was holding back at Burton's direction and definitely not through a lack of vocal skill! Her opening number "The Worst Pies in London" definitely could have used a lot more energy and slightly better timing. She showed plenty of energy during her duet with Depp in "A Little Priest" so I don't understand why they were satisfied with "Worst Pies" the way it is.
Too much blood. It was a little too "Sweeney Todd" meets "Natural Born Killers" for my taste. Yes, Sweeney slits throats, but did we need to see fountains and rivers of gore for every kill? Perhaps just a spurt or two for the Judge could have satisfied Burton's thing for blood? It became overly distracting and when any element of the film stands out like that it takes away from the whole.
Other than those two comments, I was delighted and enthralled by the direction, the performances, and the cinematography of Burton's "Sweeney"!