Rating: 
Summary: Skip this one...
Review: I really tried to like this movie. In fact, I have enjoyed several other modern remakes of Shakespeare's plays. This one just doesn't work. The movie setting is today's world while the diaglogue is from Shakespeare's time. The dialogue was hard to understand. This resulted in many of the double entendres being lost in the mush. I hope that the movie producers saved a lot of money. They didn't have to hire a clever scriptwriting staff. The settings for this movie were terrible. The mansions were trying to look like castles and modern houses all at the same time. Again, this didn't work. I also think Dicaprio was miscast. He seemed too inexperienced to play the role of Romeo. His lines sounded forced, and his emotions were often overacted. Skip this one, and see the 1968 version instead. Better yet, attend a live performance.
Rating: 
Summary: THE BEST !
Review: This fabulous adaptation is worth seeing over and over again. The entire cast is marvelous, and Leonardo DiCaprio's Romeo is, in my opinion, by far the best on film, and probably will be for a long time to come. He is sweet, poetic, daring, full of boyish exuberance and carries the difficult task of doing Shakespeare in a modern setting with ease. This is truly a superb performance. I also love John Leguizamo's stylish Tybalt and Claire Danes' beautiful Juliet. The art direction is stunning, the sets, cinematography, and editing dazzling and still manage to take my breath away after many viewings. The score is also a knockout. This film is a work of art. Buy it, watch it, love it for years to come !
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST SHAKESPEARE ON CELLULOID
Review: WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE`S ROMEO + JULIET is by far the best Shakespeare adaption of the screen. Baz Luhrmann`s production is lush and the chemistry of acting, production design, costume, sets, sound and music is spellbounding. This film is repeatadely a treat and borrows its premises from MTV. But it works and it works fine. Leonardo DiCaprio is at his magic best. It takes u back to the "sweet" age of your teens when love was first discovered and u thought that no one could have experienced the trauma of this crazy feeling more A L I V E then urself... This film brings back that feeling. It may be my favorite film...
Rating: 
Summary: Stunning and Artistic
Review: Baz Luhrmann did a great job at fusing a modern-day setting with an outdated script. The original dialogue is used in this flashy telling of William Shakespeare's most memorable work. But you should have no trouble following what the characters are saying because of the excellent "visual" aspect to the film. It's one thing to read a Shakespearean play in school, but when you can watch it played out somewhere other than on a stage, it takes on new life. There are many references to other Shakespeare plays in the props and backgrounds so keep your eyes open! The soundtrack keeps this ride moving and fits well with each scene. The most memorable scene for me: "quiet time" at the party when Romeo & Juliet discover each other in the bathrooms separated by a fish tank while Desiree sings a down tempo song downstairs.
Rating:
Summary: Shakespeare for today
Review: An amazing film. It succeeds in the almost-impossible task of bringing Shakespeare's text, without major cutting or alteration, into an involving and stylish modern context. Di Caprio and Danes are electric, and for once they're young enough to be believable. The cinematography and direction are stunningly beautiful, while never veering away from communicating the text's intentions. Tension, romance and tragedy are all there, wrapped up in a film that's intelligent and well-finished on every level, hilighting meanings within both text and subtext. This is very much R&J for today, just as Zeffirelli's was for the late 60s. Watch out for an unforgettable Mercutio, played by Harold Perrineau (who went on to do an interesting Ariel in a 1998 TV version of the Tempest).
Rating:
Summary: Romeo + Juliet was ment to be like this
Review: The 1960's version of this film put me to sleep and it had no appeal to anyone but shakespeare finatics. Well, I'm sorry. Shakespeare lived in a whole different setting where people were entertained by different things. I love the way the spruced this story up. This was a lot easier to follow than the older one and really brings out the beauty of the movie. Although I hate Leo, he did a good job, and like any other good leo movie he dies at the end.
Rating:
Summary: Worst Shakespeare Production in 400 years
Review: This film makes a mockery of human culture. The only message to the film (though unintentional) is that our culture has devolved from that of Shakespeare 400 years ago to the human cartoon character DiCaprio today. The 1968 film version was superb by the way; bringing up another point: the deevolution of our culture since the 1960's. The dumming down of America has reached its Death Valley...can't go any lower than this trash. Leonardo DiCaprio is probably the Worst actor in showbiz, yet he keeps raking in the cash. If you want to see one of the great plays of human history be mutilated by the dumb and dumber MTV generation who watches 90210 and Real Life; if you want to see thatBrave New World has been proven correct; if you want to lose all faith in the future of human culture see this film.
Rating: 
Summary: SHE LOVES HIM YEAH ! YEAH ! YEAH !
Review: Baz Luhrmann's ROMEO & JULIET is the kind of cultural monstrosity that Hollywood delivers every two or three years. Take a book or a play that everybody has once in his lifetime heard of but hardly has had the time to read like William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, choose a musical score that fits the versatile inclination of the 15-18 years old audience (since they are the only ones left who go to the movies, they have a huge economic power !), cast a handful of young actors the public can identify with and shake a lot ! In ROMEO & JULIET's case, the cocktail isn't so digestible. The emotion that lies in the Shakespearian text is annihilated by the hysteric editing and the Broadway-like gesticulation of the young cast. So throw away your handkerchiefs and be ready for a so-so parody of one of the most beautiful text of english literature. In this peculiar example, images have killed the words. If you really want to discover how to adapt with success the old William nowadays, take a look at director Abel Ferrara's CHINA GIRL, you won't regret it. Di Caprio is not credible in Romeo's role and, once or twice, image stays still during one second or so. A "buy the book" DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie
Review: New Refreshing Look at this claasic story
Rating:
Summary: Shakespeare meets Pulp Fiction
Review: This is a really great interpretation of one of William Shakespear's most famous works. Set in current times it works better than you would think. The direction, production and music all gel to make a movie that is far more than the sum of its parts. I was put off initially because I'm not a fan of Di Caprio, but don't be you won't be disappointed. I think that this movies has one off the best start sequences I have seen. Buy it on DVD and get set up with a decent home cinema system and enjoy.
| 
