Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

[jitz]

Ok for starters I love Tim Burton, everything he touches is gold. He cops a bit for being a one trick pony, but I love that one trick. I enjoy Johnny Depp, he's a good actor, with a lot of comedic ability along with dramatic poise that can really sell an emotional scene. They're a great mix, which is why they've done so many movies together. I have...an acceptance of musicals, i don't go out of my way to watch them, but when I do I usually enjoy them for what they are. Tim Burton loves musicals, the songs that have featured in his movies in the past have ranged from absolutely brilliant (like many heard in The Nightmare Before Christmas), to below par (like a few from Corpse Bride). So surely a 2 hour Burton musical marathon would be fantastic....far from.

Sweeney Todd is shit. Complete shit. It's not even average, this is Burton's worst movie ever, and rivals From Hell as Depp's worst. I have a long list of reasons too for why the movie isn't worth anybody's two hours, so this isn't just pointless bashing of a movie that critically has done rather well.

1. Every song is crap. Burton's trademark humour is nowhere to be seen, everything is taken so serious that when they take a stab at a joke, it's just not funny at all. The songs on the most part are exceedingly boring, and most of the time serve no purpose whatsoever, they're merely their to fill in time.

2.There's no musical variety. Every song sounds exactly the same, and that one song, was as I said before, shit to begin with. The movie opens with some awesome gothic organs blaring down your ear drums, it's awesome. They're never heard from again. There's no changing of instruments, no quirky sounds. It's just by the books, uninventive crap.

3. It's a great short movie stretched out to nearly two hours. I can tell you the plot of the entire movie in about three sentences, there isn't much to it at all. From the key plot points the film meanders around with Depp singing and killing pointless victims that have very little to do with the actual story, infact these tangents are really just about creating an escuse to get these characters into Depp's room so he can kill them, rather than advancing the plot.

4. Depp sings the most out of anyone, and he's not a singer. He's very limited, and it just lends to the songs sounding indentical to each other. He has no range, he can't get his psychotic character into his singing voice because I think he's struggling to simply hold a note, which he's only ever asked to do on a few occasions and I suspect a bit of computer help. It's like listening to William Shatner's spoken word music, but sadly Depp doesn't have his own "Common People".

5. The one sub plot being the love story is just played out devoid of any emotional attachment. So the main chick falls in love with Sweeney, but Sweeney is uninterested and Depp really plays up his uninterestedness in a way only Depp can, it's great I really do feel he's not interested in a relationship with this woman. That's all well and good, except when you devote 45 minutes of your movie to this side story, that Depp's character Sweeney never had any interest in. How am I meant to get emotionally involved when Sweeney is clearly adamant he's not interested? It's clear it's never going to happen within 30 seconds of this plot rearing it's head, but Burton continues to flog it for another 45 minutes. Here's a spoiler people, IT DOESN'T HAPPEN. Sad part is, Depp spoilt it for everyone watching the movie.

That really is the movie, I would criticise more, but it's lacking any type of depth for there to be more to criticise. There are two good points to the movie - in true Burton fashion, the movie looks fantasic, although the palette starts wearing thin. There is a short dream sequence/song that features a beach location without the grey/blue filter that reigns supreme in the rest of the movie, it looks lucious and reminds you that the world is infact full of colour. Perhaps the movie could have used more of it. Secondly the last 15 minutes is awesome - there's no shit songs, and the actual ending is fucking great.

Sweeney Todd is shit.

[Chillalex]

Too long, didnt really read, but I concur

It's shit.

Could have told you that much from the trailer. It looked alright until BAM, singing. As a result I think I'll just watch edward scissorhands again.

[Fozy]

I liked it.

[takersfan]

its supposed to have singing. It used to be a play that was a musical according to my sources.

[CS]

According to your sources? Fucking idiot, maybe it's the fact that he was singing in the previews that you were able to come to that conclussion.

The movie wasn't that bad but the whole movie was filmed on like three different sets.

[jitz]

its supposed to have singing. It used to be a play that was a musical according to my sources.

Uh huh, yep. It being a musical was indeed a dead giveaway that there would infact be a lot of singing. If you could read, you would know that my problem was with the songs being dull.

[takersfan]

CS if its from the previews how do i know that it was a play?

[jitz]

Because it's been mentioned in every write up about the movie since the movie's production first began.

[takersfan]

And im guessing youre assuming i read them. Well bud i didnt. I heard it from my friend.

[jitz]

Your friend is your source? Why didn't you just call him your friend to begin with?

[The Don]

My sources claim that many people believe that takersfan needs to be banned.

[Fozy]

Stop referring to me as a source!

[takersfan]

I think otherwise.

[CS]

Meh, what don said.

[Aero]

i went to see this

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.......

i dont remember much about it, but i did giet an excellent bj

10/10