Rating: 
Summary: Fast-paced, entertaining version of Broadway hit musical
Review: The movie musical was a popular form of entertainment, as well as a dependable source of income for studios, from the advent of sound in the 1920s until the late 1960s. The genre's zenith, at least in terms of financial results, was achieved in 1965 with the release of the wildly successful "The Sound of Music". Afterwards, there were a few big hits, [notably "Oliver" and "Grease"], but changing times and audience tastes forced movie musicals into virtual extinction by the late 1970s. The genre returned with a bang in 2001 with the release of "Moulin Rouge". This was not your mother's musical. The pace was frantic, and the style was closer to MTV videos than to "Singin' in the Rain". Here was a movie for the 21st Century - frenzied, yet still stylish and vastly entertaining. Now comes "Chicago", which, though more traditional than "Moulin Rouge", is a fresh, inventive movie that is quite in keeping with today's tastes in entertainment. The movie is based on the hit Broadway musical, which itself was based on an old play about flappers, showgirls, murder and music in late 1920s Chicago. Roxie Hart [Renee Zellweger] and Velma Kelly [Catherine Zeta-Jones] are arrested for different murders and sent to Cook County Jail. Both are defended by suave, cynical Billy Flynn [Richard Gere], who sees them less as clients than as great publicity tools for his burgeoning legal career. Velma has a singing and dancing career. Roxie dreams of one. The movie cleverly uses Roxie's dreams and fantasies to introduce some great musical numbers, some of which are real showstoppers. One of the best things about "Chicago" is that none of the performances are faked. Everyone does his or her own singing and dancing. That's no surprise when it comes to the marvelous Queen Latifah, who plays the conniving Matron 'Mama' Morton, or to Zeta-Jones whose career began on the musical stage. But who knew that Gere is a great singer and can even tap dance up a storm? Or that Zellweger is even more talented than we already thought? Or that the amazing John C. Reilly, who plays Velma's naive husband, sings beautifully? 'Chicago' is a real treat. Whether the movie musical is experiencing a true revival remains to be seen. I, for one, hope that it is.
Rating:
Summary: Great Songs and Great Performances
Review: I've never seen the stage version of Chicago, so I can't say if the movie was faithful to the source material, but judged on it's own by a pair of fresh eyes, Chicago was a lot of fun, especially considering I'm generally not crazy about movie musicals. Maybe this one was a little more palatable to me because most of the musical numbers were staged as the daydreams/fantasies of Renee Zellweger's character Roxie Hart, a wanna-be Jazz baby singer/murderess awaiting trial for killing her lover. Catherine Zeta-Jones co-stars as Velma Kelly, a singer/dancer in the same prison for her murder of her stage partner/sister and Husband, who she found in the sack together. Richard Gere plays Billy Flynn, the money-hungry Lawyer representing them both. (He's portrayed as a Jazz-era Johnny Cochran.) All three leads acquit themselves nicely in the song & dance department, especially Zeta-Jones, but to me the real revelations were Queen Latifah (As the Prison Matron) & John C. Reilly (Amos, the cuckold Husband of the ruthless Roxie); Reilly's rendition of "Mr. Cellophane" is heartbreaking. (It seems like lately Reilly is in every other movie that comes out, and with the quality of his performances, it's easy to see why.) I also got a kick out of seeing Christine Baranski, Chita Rivera, and Mya in smaller roles. The songs are really catchy, and I think I'm gonna have to check out Chicago on stage next. Although the movie dragged in spots, I still highly recommend it, even if you don't generally flock to musicals.
Rating: 
Summary: A disaster. "Moulin Rouge" is way better
Review: I'm starting to like the movie "Chicago" a lot less and less. It doesn't have that oomph like "Moulin Rouge," which has better costumes, better actors, better story, better makeup, better choreography, and better everything. Plus, Renee Zellwhatnot is NO match for Nicole Kidman. And why did they cast John Reilly, the UGLIEST actor in existence? Plus those songs "Cell Block Tango" and "Roxie" got on my nerves real fast. Please skip this and see "Moulin Rouge," which is the greatest musical of all time.
Rating: 
Summary: Riviting
Review: I love this film; it is so high-energy. The dances (and creative input of them into the film) are unlike most musicals that I have ever seen. Jones and Latifa steal the show, but Gere and Zellweger seem a little out of place to me (nothing that hurts the punch of the movie). What really impressed me, however, was the singing. I was very surprised that all the songs were not only catchy, but also "ear easy." The DVD itself is a **** star item. Great extras! Better film!
Rating:
Summary: Very entertaining!
Review: What an interesting concept- make a movie around a musical! This is not a direct stage performance like you may expect it to be- it has been moviefied and has a plot separate from the musical (although it has the same ideas as the musical, they have taken some liberties and given reasons as to why things happen and to clarify some of the numbers, which is actually quite a good idea!!!) I have never seen the musical live, but I have both the London and Broadway casts. This is actually my favorite recording because I feel that the artists chosen to play the parts are magnificent in dancing and singing. Richard Gere is a marvelous Billy Flynn- his accent is wonderful! Catherine Zeta Jones is my favorite actress in this movie because she has such a powerful voice and acts superbly! The musical numbers are fun, and so are the scenes between them. "Mister Cellophane," "Cell Block Tango," and the deleted scene "Class" that you can find in the extras are among my favorite numbers on this movie ("Class" is very funny- I wonder why they cut it?). Of course they cut some of the numbers that are on the other recordings because since there are movie scenes and it is not purely a musical, the movie would be way too long if they had included all the numbers. Maybe that's why they deleted "Class"? Anyway, Chicago is a satire about getting fame at all costs, even if it means murder and lying. It points out the flaws in the judicial system that are still in effect today, so it is quite interesting!!
Rating:
Summary: Veteran "Chicago" Fan
Review: "You know how some guys just can't hold their arsenic?" BAM! Ladies and gentlemen, for my next sentence this evening, about Chicago, I'd like to quote Velma upon being sworn in for court, swearing to tell you the whole truth... "and then some!" With that said, I'm telling you that CHICAGO is a KNOCKOUT! If it sweeps the Golden Globe and/or Oscar awards, it "had it comin'" to quote the infamous Cell Block Tango. Don't believe the negative hype other reviewers may give this exceptional piece of cinematic vision. Let's see them snag a role in ANY movie that sells out consistently (in Portland, Oregon, CHICAGO has SOLD OUT every show with applause after several numbers and more applause at the end!) And then let's see these arm-chair critics act, sing, & dance... and All That Jazz and see how they rate, huh? CHICAGO ROCKS! The negative hype is just jealous that they're not in this awesome HIT! They're ill-informed that there was an actual limited release (I've seen it everyday during its first weekend--I'M HOOKED!). CHICAGO'S A BLAST! Although a few numbers were cut from the theatrical release, I've heard that "Class" will be on the DVD (I hope this rumor is true). So, okay boys, "how's about two partin' shots?!" If you like "all the things we hold near and dear to our hearts," then this Chi's for you. Any more negative hype about this KILLER thriller-diller should take the advice of the Silver-Tongued Prince of the courtroom, who had this to say about similar "dumb, common criminals:" "Long as you keep 'em way off balance, how can they spot you got NO TALENT?" In this case, CHICAGO will Razzle Dazzle anyone who CAN spot superb talent. And for my last sentence this evening, I'd have to quote Roxie and Velma again, saying, "here's some advice, direct from me to you:" Buy CHICAGO!
Rating:
Summary: Easily one of the best Musicals
Review: This movie had every right to the best oscar award when it won it in 2003. Besides Zellweger, every person in this cast gave the performance of their life. Zeta-Jones overpowered in this to prove her magnificent voice, and Gere was surprising good as well. Even the smaller roles of Latifya and Reilley gave a powerful perfomance to really prove their stuff. Anyone who says that Moulon Rouge was a better movie has very bitter taste and must have fallen asleep in both or are deaf. Rouge was a horrible movie with weak acting, while Chicago was the easily the best musical in the last couple decades.
Rating: 
Summary: The most unworthy Oscar best
Review: Granted this movie is very well made, great Jazz, quality acting. But Oscar best film award? Hell no! Shame on the Academy to fall on a ripple effect - Moulin Rouge should be the true worthy winner the previous year, but unfortunately it has to take a whole year for them to realize the success of the musical genre, and as a "felt guilty" payback, to give the award to another just so-so musical - "Chicago". This makes it the most unworthy Oscar ever. If you want to watch a true masterpiece of musical, go buy Moulin Rouge instead, it beats Chicago hands down in every aspects of movie making - the visual and musical effects are stunning. Remember, it is the pioneer work of Moulin Rouge that reinvented musical genre and reawakened people's interests toward the musical genre. Academy has no way to payback for what Moulin Rouge did for the industry.
Rating:
Summary: Renee and Catherine Roar!
Review: Bob Fosse was such a larger-than-life talent, and this exuberant adaptation of his Seventies stage production shows it. The story of two murdering femme fatales (Renne Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones, both belting out songs and dancing their hearts out) in Prohibition-era Chicago is cynical, jaded, beyond belief--and just right as a vehicle to showcase the stars' considerable talents in an area where we did not expect to see them. Picture Richard Gere, a hotshot lawyer who represents both ladies, singing and dancing while keeping his cynical persona intact, and you have an idea of just what a romp this movie really is. Catherine Zeta-Jones, showstopping gorgeous as a Theda Bera-style vamp, is nothing less than wonderful. So is Queen Latifah, who steals the show as the bribe-taking, seen-it-all matron of the women's prison. I'd see the movie all over again just to see the Queen give it all she's got in full twenties regalia--including a feather boa. It's Renee Zellweger, in my opinion, who ultimately makes the movie, even though the entire ensemble cast is fabulous, right down to the bit players. She does a bravura job as Roxie, the sweet little murderess who, after plugging her no-good lover with a chest full of bullets shot at point-blank range, manages to convey a frightened innocence that makes one want to hug her. Slimmed down entirely from her zaftig "Bridget Jones" days, Renee gives it all she's got, and shows that she coulda been a contender--a torch singer par excellence. Wild, big, bold, with 20s-style sets and 21st-century over-the-top editing, "Chicago" is a wonderful treat, well worth seeing more than once.
Rating:
Summary: Raw energy enough to blow open the cinema's doors
Review: Not since ALL THAT JAZZ (1979) have I seen a film musical with as much raw energy as CHICAGO. This is fitting since the former is about the life of the brilliant director-choreographer-composer Bob Fosse, and the latter is an adaptation from his stage musical of the same name. As a matter of fact, the opening number in CHICAGO is "All That Jazz". CHICAGO has, of course, enough of a rudimentary plot to cement together the dance numbers, which are the film's raison d'être. Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger) is a wannabe dancer in 1930s Chicago, who idolizes Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones). However, both are arrested for murder, Roxie having gunned down a duplicitous lover after he reneges on a promise to introduce her to a friend who can get her into the Biz, and Velma for having whacked her husband and her sister when she caught the two in bed together. Thrown into Cook County Jail, both fall under the control of the jolly and corrupt Matron "Mama" Morton (Queen Latifah), and both retain the services of Billy Flynn (Richard Gere), a flamboyant lawyer who specializes in defending women accused of homicide, and who's never lost a case. There aren't enough superlatives to describe CHICAGO, and I fear my review won't do it justice. Jones, a former dancer before she turned actress, struts her magnificent stuff beginning with the opening number ("All That Jazz"). Zellweger and Gere, neither hoofers by training, are seemingly miscast - but it works magnificently. All three sing and dance their way through the film in visually stunning choreographed numbers that had the audience clapping after each. As Roxie and Velma worked their way through the criminal and judicial systems, the creators of CHICAGO were astoundingly clever in superimposing a musical version of each step in the process on the "real" one, for examples, the on-site police investigation of Roxie's crime ("Funny Honey"), Matron Morton's introductory speech to her new charges ("When You're Good to Mama"), Flynn's entrance ("All I Care About"), and Roxie's defense ("We Both Reached for the Gun"). My favorite comes during Roxie's trial when Flynn, more showman than counselor, displays his philosophy on defense strategy with the glitzy "Razzle Dazzle". CHICAGO is loud, colorful, in-your-face, exuberant entertainment. I'd give it 10 stars if I could. And if you don't take the opportunity to see it while it's on the Big Screen at the beginning of 2003, then you're doing yourself a huge injustice. I beg you to see this film! I intend to see it at least once more, and will purchase the CD soundtrack and DVD when they're released.
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