Rating: 
Summary: Hypnotic
Review: This is the heartwarming story of schemers who get away with murder. Set in 1920s Chicago, the film is populated with some of the most despicable characters you will ever see on screen. Richard Gere, playing shyster Billy Flynn, steals the film. He sings, he dances, he smirks, he connives. Gere looks like he was having a lot of fun with the part. Queen Latifah, playing prison matron Mama Morton, is surprisingly good. Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renee Zelweger were amazing as singer/dancer Velma Kelly and celebrity wannbe Roxie Hart.The music, the singing, the lights are hypnotic. I could not take my eyes off the screen. Unlike a lot of musicals, the singing and dancing blend right into the plot and show us what the characters are thinking. On one level the story is a cynical, satirical look at the criminal justice system. On another level it is fun. Go see it.
Rating: 
Summary: Chicago is a blast!
Review: It's true the story is dark, both sentimental and cynical, a film you wouldn't expect to have fun with. And the story is certainly not inspiring. But the dancing, the music, the sets and lighting, all make it a WOW movie to watch. Catherine Zeta-Jones definitely steals the show in the musical performance department. She is absolutely scintillating -- vivacious, energetic, all-out, sexy and strong. But Renee and Richard also hold up their own quite nicely. Who would have thought?! I don't understand how anyone could NOT like Richard Gere's tap dance -- it was so well-placed in the script, was such an apt allegory for the "fancy footwork" needed to get out of court room trouble, and it looked effortless. Bravo for all three performers! Queen Latifah actually stole the show for most complex character development, however. She was subtle; you could never quite get a fix on her. Was she a good guy, or a bad guy? It was so blindingly obvious with all the other characters. While it must be acknowledged that the character was written that way, Queen Latifah pulled it off, without any glimpse of discontinuity in the character. And her musical number was as scintillating as Catherine's were. Too bad there weren't more of them. I twitched through the whole film, wanting to dance along with the numbers. And stayed right through to the end of the credits in order to determine who danced and sang for Renee and Richard. I strongly recommend this film for any who like good musicals. This will be a classic!
Rating:
Summary: "Come on, babe, we're gonna brush the sky"
Review: "Chicago" is a film whose cast members are movie stars. They know they're stars, the camera knows it, and we know it; and we see why they're stars. They're having fun, and so are we. By depicting the musical numbers as figments of Roxie's imagination, "Chicago" is able to remain faithful to the Kander/Ebb/Fosse stage musical on which it's based, retaining the device of presenting the musical numbers as vaudeville acts. This device was surely adopted for this reason, and not out of a phobia of having characters burst into song. It is to be hoped that, if "Chicago" helps revitalize the movie musical, there will be plenty of musicals in the next few years that will make audiences comfortable again with this convention, which has never gone away in Bollywood movies. "Chicago"'s only real flaw is its lack of admirable or likeable characters and its corresponding lack of a satisfying moral dimension. Velma and Roxie learn nothing from their crimes and ultimately benefit financially from them; poor Amos is left abandoned and broken-hearted. We see Billy and Momma attending the show in the final sequence, but not Amos. But this flaw comes directly from the source musical, and can be seen as part of the story's artistic meaning. "Chicago" is intended to be a parody of the importance and fleeting nature of celebrity in America. Nonetheless, this slight imperfection is the main reason I personally preferred "Adaptation" and "The Hours" to "Chicago" among 2002's movies. "Chicago" is, however, still worthy to stand among the winners of the Best Picture Oscar. See "Chicago". Watch as Catherine Zeta-Jones sings and dances like the wind off Lake Michigan, as Renee Zellweger makes us feel for a slightly reprehensible character, as Richard Gere's pure star power razzle-dazzles us, as Queen Latifah shows us what a phenomenon she is, as Lucy Liu and Christine Baranski delight us in their small roles. And look out in particular for John C. Reilly's "Mr. Cellophane", perhaps the most incandescent moment in a year at the movies filled with such moments. These are our Hollywood legends. These are the memories we will share with our children. This is our golden age of the movies.
Rating:
Summary: Best movie in years!!!
Review: To anyone who disliked this movie, there is something definitely wrong with you. The singing, dancing, and acting by everyone in this production was amazing and shows just how flexible actors can be. My favorite performance was by Catherine Zeta-Jones as the villainous Velma Kelley. She absolutely [was great] and she definitely deserved the Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards. Renee Zellweger as Roxie Hart, Richard Gere as Billy Flynn, Queen Latifah as Matron Mama Morton, and Peter C. Reilly as Amos Hart all perform wonderfully and bring their characters to life. Rob Marshall did an excellent job of adapting this show for the screen by having the musical numbers exist only in Roxie Hart's mind. It deserved every award it got and deserved even more awards at the Oscars. It is a must-see movie for everyone!
Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: This movie was excellent, I was not a musically inclined person before seeing this, but now I am looking forward to the next musical made movie. Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: Was Entertained From Start To Finish! ...
Review: Chicago is certainly worth all the hype. Renee Zellweiger was Ok in her role but Catherine Zeta-Jones and Queen Latifah were fabulous. However the movie is more than a super cast. What intrigued me about Chicago were the many cpativating scenes. Enjoyed the side by side cabaret performance vs the story line scenes at the courthouse, jail, and the hanging. Marionette scene was creative as was the tap dancing role which fit Richard Gere's role well. Stunning cinematography as well as the fabulous show music. It gets my two thumbs up for sure.
Rating:
Summary: MOST ENTERTAINING MOVIE IN YEARS
Review: I heard of the musical Chicago from years ago, but really never paid attention to it. I had no desire to see this movie either. Reading some of the reviews, I went to see it out of curiosity.
I went to a stadium seating theatre with a big screen and great sound. From the first frame to the last, I loved every minute of it. The music was great as well as the story and perfomances. Most the reviews here seem to be one star or 5 stars. I just can't imagine anyone hating this movie. I went back 3 more times to see it, and liked it more each time. I can understand some of the criticism of the director, but there was enough traditional scenes that the chop chop chop style wasn't much of a bother to me. In fact some of it added to certain scenes. I truly don't understand how this movie was cast with of bunch of actors with little musical background..Shows you how much I know. They were all great. Queen Latifah was just plain great. Her character in the movie was a little off. First she is a tough talking prison matron, then she's real nice and understanding...oh well, her performance especially musically was top notch. If you're tired of war movies, and sappy comedies, go see this and just lose yourself in two hours of sexy fun with great music. Jerry
Rating: 
Summary: BORING
Review: Who chose the lead roles. I was very excited to see this movie and how it looked on the big screen,I loved the play. What a disappointment. The leads cannot sing. there voices are flat and not appleaing at all. Madonna & Goldie Hawn in the roles would have been more appealing. Dont waste your money with this
Rating:
Summary: Chicago vs Moulin Rouge
Review: Actually chicago is also a very nice movie that won 6 oscars and left 7 nominations including Best Director.For me Moulin Rouge! was a better movie that Chicago. Not just because Moulin Rouge is only a love story the directing is better than the directing of Chicago that is to my opinion. And the oscars are honoring Chicago the Best Picture because they did not honor it to the previous and better musical Moulin Rouge! and Chicago wouldn't have been made if Moulin Rouge wasnt created.
Rating:
Summary: How Not to Do a Movie Musical
Review: Take a premise that's based on tabloid journalism, mix it with a quasi-historical situation, and then stir with music. The result: Chicago. Forgettable songs surrounding a dubious plot, with poor acting and mediocre singing and dancing. It's a wonder this production even made it to the movie theaters.
The dialogue was obviously meant to be cynical and sarcastic, making us aware of Americans' fickle obsession with celebrities, but it somehow ignores the racism, poverty, mob warfare and other maladies that were much more prevalent in the 1920's. The movie is lost in its own razzle-dazzle.
If you want to see a movie musical with social commentary, I'd advise you to obtain Cabaret, where it's done right.
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