I usually find Branagh annoying, but I have to confess I found this quite delightful (in places). It’s not quite as clever as it thinks it is and the expectation of its cast weighs it down, but you’d be hard pressed to fail to deliver with content of this quality and it doesn’t. Lots of nice playful camera work, tons of epic vistas and extravagant scenery, characters played flamboyantly over the top. I quite enjoyed it and was thankful for Depp’s early departure, when did he last deliver a decent performance? It is missing something though and I suspect it’s that it’s merely a remake and the question has to be asked, why? I don’t think this film answers that well enough, but I still think it’s better than the reviews it received. A good modern update to a classic tale and a classic era of cinema.
6/10
