Great? Nope, but still good.

Rating: 6/10 (1 June 2013)

Glitz, glamour, greed, girls, guns; that's Gatsby alright. But is it great? Good would be closer to the mark, despite Baz Luhrmann's trademark zest and extravagance. The Aussie director throws everything including the kitchen sink at his retelling of F. Scott Fitzgerald's tale of decadence and romance; some of it sticks, some of it distracts. With help from cinematographer Simon Duggan, Luhrmann creates a glorious rose-tinted look for his hyper- real 1920's, but alas it's hampered by the excessive and often obvious CGI, which simply isn't needed. The decision to mix modern music with a period score - which has worked for Luhrmann before - is a successful gambit and injects an extra level of fun into the proceedings, especially in the first act. The film's core strength though, is Leonardo DiCaprio's engaging portrayal of the eponymous millionaire, who is initially shrouded in mystery but slowly unravels into an all-too-human protagonist driven solely by love. In support, Carey Mulligan is exceptional as the beautiful but emotionally-damaged object of Gatsby's desires and Joel Edgerton is commanding as her philandering, pig-headed husband, however Tobey Maguire fails to impress as the innocent pawn who gets sucked into their lavish lives and struggles to keep his hands clean. Lasting nearly two and a half hours, this adaptation is at times too repetitive and self-indulgent to garner Luhrmann any new admirers, yet those who are already fans of his unapologetic over-the-top style will undoubtedly find plenty to enjoy, especially on the big screen.