Nothing can prepare you

Rating: 10/10 (21 December 2007)

Speaking as an avid fan of the show and all of the major players involved with movie, this is the greatest musical adaptation. Period. It's faithful to the original work, only making cuts and trims where it's necessary, and captures the essence of the show and the many dynamics and layers that go with it. This show is no picnic. They don't call it the most difficult musical ever for no reason. To pull off a movie adaptation of this show even remotely well can be considered an accomplishment. To equal, and in some ways surpass, the greatness of the original work is unheard of, and it happens with Burton's Sweeney Todd. I can't sing this movie's praises enough (pun half intended). Fans of the Broadway show will be happy, fans of Burton will be happy, fans of Depp will be happy, fans of Carter will be happy, even fans of Sascha Baron Cohen will be happy. Burton somehow pulled it all off, with the help of a stellar cast and Oscar caliber technical staff.
No, I'm not exaggerating in this review. The only excuse you have for not seeing this movie is if you're super squeamish about blood (even then the blood is pretty artistic and over the top, but not too much so) or you simply don't like dark material...and let me just say that you'd be hard pressed to find darker subject matter.
A little NOTE to FANS OF THE SHOW: The first time you see this, don't be surprised if it flies by really fast. This happened to me, and I realized that it was probably because I wasn't used to a lot of the songs being trimmed and such. The second time I saw the pace felt MUCH slower and more coherent.