Great Gatsby Review

Rating: 9/10 (12 June 2013)

I think that Baz Lurhmann's The Great Gatsby is getting mixed thoughts because as Baz himself said in an interview "everyone has their own version of The Great Gatsby" which is probably why people love it or hate it. I am currently reading the book and I think the critics and the people who don't like movie are people with a different vision of how The Great Gatsby is than Baz sees it. I think that Baz wanted to show the film as a tragic love and he then surrounds it in his vision of the roaring twenties or the jazz age ( I personally like the roaring twenties ). But really the novel is showing how the 20s corrupted the American dream, also the change in lifestyle during the twenties because the economy was better and the war had ended. Really the novel The Great Gatsby was more than just parties and a love story, but Baz wanted to capture the crazy parties and the eccentric lifestyle people had then with the parties and such. That is how Baz saw the story and it is not wrong it is what he saw. He also didn't really show how the old money did not approve of the new money with the whole west and east egg situation.
As I see it Baz wanted to tell a story that would please audiences not make them think of the deeper meaning which is okay I mean it was advertised as one of the first big summer blockbusters with good new music and amazing visuals. Really the visuals are great but nothing to waste money on the 3D version of the movie. I am assuming that the critics wanted a movie that would show us the deeper meaning of Gatsby but they got a summer blockbuster that they were not expecting so they judged it harshly which in my opinion is unfair. I mean it's a Baz Lurhmann movie he is known for cool visuals and outrageous costumes I assume critics would remember from Moulin Rouge ( it was better than Gatsby ).
I was a bit disappointed in how Baz showed the 1920s I mean I watch his movies that take us back in time in history I don't feel as if I have gone back in time but gone to Baz's alternate universe, a mix of history and modern day which is cool but not for movie like Gatsby where it is centred in the real past 1920s not some mix of the future and the past. I felt the same way when watching Moulin Rouge but less so because in Gatsby the 20s is such a pivotal point to get right.
Overall if you want to go to Gatsby to see an interesting romantic, fun love story then you're going to get what you want but if you want to see a fantastic remake of a classic novel that is intelligent and shows the life of a person in the 1920s maybe you will not totally get what you want. I think Gatsby deserves a pat on the back for making an enjoyable love story of a novel. Do I see any awards for the movie, not the music..... Well no but it is still a great movie I definitely say it is a must see even if you're just going to see it so you don't have to read the book for class.