True to the book, Dicaprio is excellent but overall the potential was not met.

Rating: 5/10 (31 May 2013)

This film could have been brilliant; unfortunately it only just does a few things very well and a lot of other things poorly. Now, as a massive fan of the novel I found that the story synced up very well with the source material. That made me happy. Also the always-excellent performance of Dicaprio as the title character was played with elegance, insecurity and a definite sense of loneliness (characteristics which are essential to the role) I also go on the record of saying that Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton and Elizabeth Debicki played their roles very well; as did Isla Fisher. Now onto my issues with the film. Number one: Tobey Maguire. Plain and simple he was a bad choice for this character. He was spineless and still managed to appear extremely pathetic every chance he got. I see Nick Carraway as a smart, grounded human being who has also been sheltered for the majority of his life. In this film he came off as a young kid who didn't know the difference from right and left. I do believe that this role could have been much for effective had some actors such as Jake Gyllenhaal, Andrew Garfield, or perhaps Joseph Gordon-Levitt had tackled the role. I am not just saying Garfield because he too was Spider- Man. It just a matter of opinion. Regardless I just did not buy his performance. My second issue was the soundtrack. Alone the music would be a great album to put on a dance to. In the context of the story, it just doesn't fit. I know the vibe of the film was shooting for a largely illustrated ideal of the time frame where glamour and alcohol were in full swing; but considering my love for the classic nature of the source material I felt it was too campy and blown out of proportion. Which Segway's into why I think this film doesn't need to ever be in 3D. An utterly pointless gimmick that needs to be put to rest. I appreciate the vibrant art style, the production design was excellent. I don't know if everyone saw it; but in the scene with Gatsby and Nick driving into town the jump cuts were awful and the audio didn't even sync up. That is unforgivable. In conclusion; I will not see this film again. I appreciate the art style to an extent, I really enjoyed the majority of the performances but I do find a lot wrong with this when it could have been so much better. Quite the let down.