Juliet & Romeo
“What light through yonder joint doth spark…cause you’re gonna need some of that to get through this”
- Billy Joe
Let’s focus on areas where it hit the mark-
This one doesn’t do much very well, and what it does do well, it does only barely.
.05/1.5
.05/1.5
.05/1.5
What should easily have been the battle cry of the film is in the end only a whimper due to lack of significance in the majority of the numbers. Most of the songs sound alike with no defining characteristics or shift in tone. The only saving graces here are that no one song is absolutely un-listenable, and two of the songs are actually ja
What should easily have been the battle cry of the film is in the end only a whimper due to lack of significance in the majority of the numbers. Most of the songs sound alike with no defining characteristics or shift in tone. The only saving graces here are that no one song is absolutely un-listenable, and two of the songs are actually jams. I Should Write This Down and Streets On Fire are the saving instances that divert from the typical melody carried throughout in an attempt to set a tone for their respective scenes. And even still, one of these two songs is completely unnecessary.
.05/1.5
.05/1.5
.05/1.5
I would be remiss if I allowed myself to complete this review without at least commending the camera work for the shots of the city, as well as the production quality of the battle between Tibalt and Mercucio on the bridge. Sadly the bulk of the movie aside from these moments feels cheap, poorly put together, cluttered, and scatterbrained
I would be remiss if I allowed myself to complete this review without at least commending the camera work for the shots of the city, as well as the production quality of the battle between Tibalt and Mercucio on the bridge. Sadly the bulk of the movie aside from these moments feels cheap, poorly put together, cluttered, and scatterbrained with some scenes being so short I couldn’t help but wonder why they were included at all.
0/1.5
.05/1.5
0/1.5
Truthfully this is moreso an area where the film managed to avoid total disaster than it is an area where it did well, but for Juliet & Romeo avoiding total disaster is a considerable success. Imagine casting Rebel Wilson in a musical, then only giving her roughly 30 seconds of sing time..what a wasted opportunity. Both leads are insuffer
Truthfully this is moreso an area where the film managed to avoid total disaster than it is an area where it did well, but for Juliet & Romeo avoiding total disaster is a considerable success. Imagine casting Rebel Wilson in a musical, then only giving her roughly 30 seconds of sing time..what a wasted opportunity. Both leads are insufferable, most cast feels out of place, and others just sift through.
There’s a few exemptions from this which allow me to prevent this rating from being a negative. Jason Isaac’s shines where he is given the chance, despite suffering from the same holdback issue as Rebel Wilson. Juliet & Romeo outright refuses to let its top stars lend their expertise to elevate the narrative, relying instead on underwhelming performances from the two star-crossed dipshits who somehow managed to earn their leading roles. Tibalt and Mercucio both contribute, I’ll again reference their battle scene, and give the film almost all of its emotional gravity in their scenes. A more entertaining use of this cast would have been to skew the narrative to tell their respective tales, letting Romeo & Juliet take the backseat to do whatever unspeakable(and damn near unwatchable) acts they desire.
Now let’s take a look at where it went wrong
Realistically, there are a lot of items that could be picked, but we’ll stick with the plot.
-.05/1.5
When I saw the title, I won’t pretend like my eyes didn’t start to roll a little bit. But after some consideration I began to open up to the idea that perhaps there was a reason for this, maybe this will be told more primarily from Juliet’s perspective? After watching, the only viable reason I can conclude for the name switch is to respec
When I saw the title, I won’t pretend like my eyes didn’t start to roll a little bit. But after some consideration I began to open up to the idea that perhaps there was a reason for this, maybe this will be told more primarily from Juliet’s perspective? After watching, the only viable reason I can conclude for the name switch is to respectfully alienate itself from all other superior versions of the tale, and make sure that any proper fan of the source material doesn’t find themselves accidentally stumbling onto this garbage in an attempt to curate a Shakespeare movie night.
I have peppered in hints at this throughout the review(and it’s also hinted in the film’s own poster), and though I hate to officially include a spoiler which is unique to this version of the tale I feel as though it is crucial to help you understand why this is negative. The weight of Romeo & Juliet is not a story of love, but one of tragedy, the deaths of the titular characters is crucial to make the story mean anything. Juliet & Romeo is filled with failure from start to finish but its greatest crime of all is not the distribution of cannabis but rather the theft of the story’s meaningful ending. In this telling, Romeo & Juliet simply fake their deaths so that they can go on living outside the city. This isn’t even the only major change to the story, but it is by far the most impactful and detrimental to the experience.
The sole tragedy of Juliet & Romeo is its very existence.
Review By
Billy Joe
“The Scene Cowboy”