A well-crafted though simple film

Rating: 6/10 (27 December 2007)

Tim Burton provides us with another of his Gothic comedies, darker than most before and with a subtle humor that might pass you by if you're not listening carefully. Johnny Depp delivers a solid performance, though less lively than you might expect from his recent films. His role is simple, his mission clear and the life of the characters - and the movie, by extension - is in spite of Depp, rather than centered around him.
Though perhaps only personal taste, I found the music to be fairly conventional and the lyrics bland. Despite a couple of notable exceptions, the characters are frequently singing about things that you've probably already worked out yourself, leading to a double-dipping of plot elements as you see an event happen only to be reminded again by the next musical number. It doesn't help anything that a few of the songs themselves are repeated in the film.
The plot is simple, the characters morally extreme, and the events often coincidence-driven. If you're able to look past these elements, you'll find a dark and beautiful experience that will pull you into its black humor and bleak setting. That said, it stays well within the box Tim Burton has created for himself and probably won't win over many new fans.