After a few early spins in his grave, Shakespeare may end up grudgingly respectful
Comment
07/13/07
Macbeth (2007)
46 %
Reviews Counted: 41 Fresh: 19 Rotten:22 Average Rating: 5.2/10
Consensus:
A new take on Macbeth relies too heavily on nudity and violence, and ends up looking like a campy 1970s horror movie.
Rated: 15
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Theatrical Release: 13-07-2007
Synopsis: With his fourth film, Australian director Geoffrey Wright attempts to contemporize a Shakespeare classic. Featuring Elizabethan dialogue in the midst of an urban and violent modern-day setting, MACBETH stars Sam Worthington as the title character.... [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: Sam Worthington, Victoria Hill, Lachy Hulme, Gary Sweet, Steve Bastoni
Director: Geoffrey Wright
Screenwriter: Victoria Hill, Geoffrey Wright
Producer: Martin Fabinyi
Composer: John Clifford White
Screenwriter: Victoria Hill, Geoffrey Wright
Producer: Martin Fabinyi
Composer: John Clifford White
Reviews
This modern-day Australian adaptation of the Scottish play is thrillingly deranged, although it's also rather pretentious.
07/13/07
Flawed but enjoyable adaptation with some good ideas balanced against occasionally amateurish direction and unintentionally amusing pronunciation.
07/13/07
There are good performances, smart direction and dark-hued photography that's impressive. But it would be surprising if this Macbeth were to bring people back to Shakespeare proper, as it intends.
07/13/07
Light touches are counterbalanced by some heavy-footed acting and a streak of leaden literal-mindedness.
07/13/07
Sadly, the delivery does not always match the magnificence of Shakespeare’s words and the film relies much too heavily on brutal violence for its drama.
07/13/07
FAST-paced and flashy, this contemporary retelling of Shakespeare’s bloodiest play catches the eye but never engages the heart like it should.
07/13/07
Ultimately, though, it's just a load of sound and fury, indifferently played by a Neighbours-lite cast and fatally compromised by graphic violence that makes Roman Polanski's 1971 version seem tame by comparison. Strewth…
07/13/07
Double, double toil and trouble, handgun burn and jacuzzi indifferently percolate.
07/13/07
The story's handled at a reasonable clip, and there are some good, if uniformly bearded, supporting performances.
07/13/07
Top Critic
Everything is over-directed and over-designed like a gruelling pop video with an awful lot of sound and fury.
07/13/07
Top Critic Top Critic
Good-looking and well-meaning, this Macbeth falls some way short of its intentions, but nevertheless breathes glamorous and sadistic new life into an old story.
07/13/07
Top Critic Top Critic Top Critic
Unfortunately, ‘Romper Stomper’ director Geoffrey Wright’s take on the play fails to do it justice: both lumpen and flashy, it convinces neither as drama nor as stylistic exercise.
07/12/07
Top Critic
The play's power has been diluted by questionable editing, an overload of blandly stylized violence and the conspicuous suspicion that this whole thing is the predictable result of catering to base commercial instincts.
01/14/08
Grunge and slickness substitute for eeriness or any hint of psychological terror.
07/27/07
Related Forums
(2007 USA release)-Geoffrey Wright’s MACBETH skedded for July 6th opening in NYC!!!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 6/15/07
by: REEL_REVIEWER 6/15/07
(2007 USA release)-Geoffrey Wright’s MACBETH skedded for July 6th opening in NYC!!!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 6/15/07
by: REEL_REVIEWER 6/15/07
(2007 USA release)-Geoffrey Wright’s MACBETH skedded for July 6th opening in NYC!!!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 6/15/07
by: REEL_REVIEWER 6/15/07
(2007 USA release)-Geoffrey Wright’s MACBETH skedded for July 6th opening in NYC!!!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 6/15/07
by: REEL_REVIEWER 6/15/07
(2007 USA release)-Geoffrey Wright’s
by: REEL_REVIEWER 5/21/07
by: REEL_REVIEWER 5/21/07
IGN RSS Feeds