Beauty and the Beast
Director: Bill Condon
Talent: Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Josh Gad
Release Date: 17th March
With the exception of Jon Favreau’s truly wonderful The Jungle Book, none of the recent live action remakes of Disney’s animated back catalogue have been quite good enough to justify their existence.
Unfortunately, this trend continues with director Bill Condon’s adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, which looks very pretty indeed, but adds little of substance to the 1991 original apart from an extra forty minutes running time.
Emma Watson and Dan Stevens ably fulfil their singing duties and share some nice chemistry in the title roles, while Luke Evans, who has a serious set of pipes, nearly runs away with the entire picture as the vainglorious, dim-witted Gaston. They are supported by a very strong cast, including Ewan McGregor, Emma Thompson and Ian McKellen.
However, in spite of the clear affection for the source material evident both in front and behind the camera, not enough risks have been taken here, resulting in a lavish yet essentially empty carbon copy of a stone-cold classic. It’s too bad Favreau wasn’t available for the job.
Words – Felipe Deakin
