I give up! I just don't get it.

Rating: 5/10 (26 March 2011)

As I approach my 60th birthday and am confronted with these hundreds of rave reviews for this, (in my poor estimation only) seedy, slow moving, dull and grisly adaptation of Sondheim's "classic" musical which ran for less than 600 performances in its initial run in 1979, with the presence of the wonderful Angela Lansbury in the lead female role, 200 performances in its 1989 Broadway revival and only 384 performances in the 2005 revival despite the always dynamic presence of Patti Lupone in the Lansbury role. In contrast, the last Broadway revivals of Show Boat and South Pacific ran for 1000 performances.
I've just become disconnected with what entrances the younger film goers these days. Casablanca, Gone With The Wind, The Wizard of Oz, The Philadelphia Story, Twelve Angry Men, Inherit the Wind. All well-acted dramas with a point to make (except perhaps GWTW).
Sweeney. What is the attraction or point of having the actors chant their lyrics musically instead of speaking them. Most of the "good" songs, (as opposed to popular songs, of which there are none) have been cut.
But why the appeal of the gore. Is it because this generation grew up idolizing The Godfather, Goodfellas, and many other gangster films and violent Vietnam War films? I just don't know and would be happy to have someone explain it to me. I would love to see a breakdown of the film's popularity by sex and age. I have to think that a lot of the film's critics are just too reluctant to post negative views in the face of all the ten star reviews.
Certainly Johnny Depp is a very good actor and Tim Burton a talented film-maker. But why the great popularity for gruesome fantasies? Times change, I guess, and taste with them.