Rating: 
Summary: The cost of Paradise.
Review: Few films are afforded such negative publicity during production. But, in the wake of the phenomenal success of Titanic, all eyes were locked on Leonardo DiCaprio. And the prognosiswas not good. After offers (notably American Psycho), the cherubic 24-year-old settled on The Beach, a mainly British production adapted from the novel by Alex Garland and produced by the team that bought of Shallow Grave, Trainspotting and A Life Less Ordinary. First of all, Ewan McGregor - disappointed that he was passed over for the lead - grumbled that, in the interests of commercialism, the central character had been changed from a Brit to a Yank. Then came the environmental horror stories. Apparently, the production had transformed a Thai paradise into a self-serving film set, uprooting rare grasses, bulldozing sand dunes and planting no less than 60 palm trees. However, according to producer Andrew Macdonald, he not only paid Thailand's Forestry Commission $66,000 for permission to shoot there, but three tons of rubbish was removed from the site and, at considerable cost, the beach was returned to it's former glory.In the interests of the story, the idyllic setting had to be just right. For The Beach is a powerful polemic on the precarious politics of paradise. Dissatisfied with the numbing mediocrity of his life, Richard (DiCaprio), a young American backpacker, goes in search of new experience. Arriving in Bangkok, he turns his back on the comforts of home in favour of a run-down hostel and an opportunity to sample such local delicacies as snake's blood. Then, during a surreal encounter with drug-addled Scotsman Daffy (Robert Carlyle), he learns of a secret paradise hidden by vertiginous cliffs and geographic isolation. Accompanied by a young French couple, our hero finds his island and, in turn, his true vocation - the pure pursuit of pleasure. Of course, this been a Danny Boyle film, Richard's nirvana is not all that he had it would be. But then the very nature of Utopia is a figment of imagination, is it not? Boasting superlative production values and a terrific script by John Hodge, The Beach is a gripping contemplation of the nature of our world and ourselves - and how we view both. DiCaprio, himself, already looking older than he did in Titanic, invests the part of Richard with gusto. He is electrifying, and is well supported by a largely unknown cast. And Angelo Badalamenti's evocative, electronic score is another major plus.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a day at "The Beach"
Review: I am fortunate enough to have seen this movie on DVD. Let's face it, as you can tell from the other reviews, this movie does not live up to expectations, to DiCaprio's previous flicks, or to the beautiful scenery. The saving grace, for me, was that the DVD had many features that made up for the movie. A suggestion to those watching this movie... make good use of the cut scenes. These scenes did several things for me: 1) Fill in the blanks for several huge, gaping plot holes 2)Make me wonder what the heck the director was thinking when he throw away several crucial and interesting scenes and left in ones like that um...interesting video game-esque scene. If you must buy this movie, buy the DVD and enjoy everything else on it.
Rating: 
Summary: Leo should have Sank with the shark like in Titanic
Review: I saw this movie in the tropical Cancun and even with Spanish subtitles I was dissapointed. Now the Dvd did it little more justice. The truth is the movie had an amazing backdrop and a sound score to match but like many of Leo's movies the script and plot were lacking in every major area. If the script had been as well constructed as that island was beautiful this movie could have taking more awards than I can count. I personally think Leo is has bit of inate talent but if he continues to take scripts and movies directed like this he wont be able to act himself out of a wet paper bag.
Rating:
Summary: SURVIVOR with better looking castaways
Review: I first saw this film on a plane from London to Chicago. I was squinting at a tiny screen with less-than-optimal resolution, but I was still swept up in it. Robert Carlysle is quite creepy as Daffy, and even more so in his reprise in a dream-like sequence. The cast in general is very realistic, but DiCaprio shows his talent above and beyond the rest. This is the kid from "This Boy's Life" with Robert DeNiro and "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" with Johnny Depp. This is the Leo from "The Basketball Diaries" and "Titanic". Say what you will about him, but when I first saw "...Gilbert Grape" I said this is a kid to watch. This is a fun adventure movie, sort of "Survivor" meets "Lord of the Flies". The cinematography is quite fun and the Dolby Digital is enjoyable. The features are adequate in today's jaded times (I remember having to pay $5.00 extra for a laserdisk of Jaws in letterbox). The deleted scenes are enlightening and missed from the movie. All in all, this is a good package to watch with your girlfriend on a Saturday night.
Rating:
Summary: Undeserved bad reputation
Review: We all know that this movie got trashed by the media mostly by people who refuse to take DiCaprio serious as an actor. Leo is no Deniro but he has more than enough talent to pull off this role. The story line is fair but the cinimatography is excellent. This film is well worth a second (or first) look.
Rating: 
Summary: The movie does no justice to the book what so ever
Review: I read The Beach, the book, a few months ago and then i ordered the movie on PPV to see how it compared. Well the start is fine almost exactly the same but not quite as much charm. but then it falls into disrepair. they cut a whole story line and compleatly changed the main plot. even compared to the book the movie is terable. It is badly acted and extreamly poorly ended. In conclusion I say forget the movie and by the book for a much more thrilling time.
Rating:
Summary: "Beach"-less
Review: The book "The Beach" was really great and had an interesting storyline. But I really didn't like the movie, because it was so not like the book. It had the main area of the plot, but I didn't think the movie had any really suspenseful moments or any great scenes that made the movie better than OK. It could have been really great and even though the actors played their parts well, the movie just seemt thrown together just to release another supposed-to-be-big movie with Leonardo DiCaprio in it. I just expected alot more from such a great book. They made a good "Green Mile" book to movie. Why wasn't this one better?
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly Good. Very Good.
Review: I had heard some bad opinions about The Beach before I saw it, so I must admit, I was not too keen on seeing it. However, The Beach was surprisingly good, although not faultless, it is a film that is interesting and ripe for discussion. Leonardo DiCaprio puts on one of his best performances since he played Jim Carrol in The Basketball Diaries, here he takes the role of Richard, an American backpacker in search of paradise. When he is staying at a hotel in Hong Kong, Richard meets Daffy (Robert Carlyle) who tells him of a secret beach in Thailand. Richard is convinced this is the place he has been looking for, and Daffy gives him a copy of the map that leads to the beach. However, Daffy commits suicide the next day, so Richard must find some other keen travellers. That is when he meets the beautiful Francoise (Virginie Ledoyen) and her boyfriend, Etienne (Guillame Canet). They are intrigued at the idea of a secret beach, and they join him immediately. Richard, Francoise and Etienne go to great lengths to get to the beach, and when they get there, they realise the beach has some chilling, brilliant and even deadly secrets of its own. Based on the best-selling novel written by Alex Garland, The Beach is an electrifying journey through paradise. Unfortunately, it was bombed by many critics who believe it to be pointless trash. But, if you have Danny Boyle directing, Leo in trunks and gorgeous newcomer Virginie Ledoyen in a bikini, what could possibly go wrong? I rate The Beach 7 and a half out of 10.
Rating:
Summary: Definitely Worth Seeing, Especially on DVD
Review: Leonardo DiCaprio is good as a roaming American who along with a pair of new friends travels to a secret island paradise in Thailand. Things go great for a while and then predictably begin to fall apart. Uneven movie is still very watchable thanks to good performances, fine scenery and photography, and some great shark bites. The quality of the DVD is outstanding.
Rating:
Summary: Is this a movie or a cartoon
Review: The second choice seems more accurate as this film with Leo in it, was aimed at a young teenage girl audience, I guess this same audience wouldn;t know a good movie from a cheap trip to the mall. Anyway the film is horribly made, it shows that Leo can not act, and it did die a quick death at the Box Office. Thank Goodness.
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