"A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing."

Rating: Null/10 (12 May 2013)

I'm just gonna come right out and say it, guys: The Great Gatsby is a mediocre flop. Admittedly, I was never a huge fan of the book, but I did LIKE the book. (It's probably the best example there is of an "unreliable narrator," and it's bolstered by vivid characters and the occasional poetic turn of phrase.) But the movie doesn't even consider contradicting Nick's version of events, the second act drags along at a snail's pace, the music jumps from genre to genre and mood to mood for no apparent reason, and the whole thing is painfully predictable -- and not because it's based on a classic piece of American literature. It's predictable because it follows every Hollywood cliché that you can think of. (Actual quote: "He'll pay for this. Oh, he'll pay.") But the worst crime of all: superimposing text like a mid-2000s music video. Cheesy, unnecessary, and just plain ugly. It's like the movie is screaming "HEY! THIS IS A LINE FROM THE BOOK! CHECK IT OUT, LITERATURE!"
It's not without its moments, but overall, it's nothing special.