Rating: B+
There have been many reviews of The Great Gatsby already, and most are incredibly critical. I decided after reading a few of those reviews that I would suspend prejudice and make up my own mind. I went to see the movie in 3-D and it did not disappoint; it was exactly as I expected. This is one of those movies that if you saw the trailers in the lead up to its release you saw the best parts, however those were not the only good parts. The movie was greatly hyped in the weeks and months leading up to its premiere, but the glitz and glam that was promoted carried through the entire movie with intrigue and excitement. My only dissenting critique is that I would have liked to have seen/heard more music from the star powered sound track that the movie inspired, after all that is what I have come to know director Baz Lurhmann for.
The Great Gatsby is a favorite book of mine, and this movie stayed quite close to the nature of the novel. There were however, some elements of the story that I didn't pick up in reading the book, which I'll admit I read for the first time earlier this year. For instance, I did not realize just how much of a gangster Gatsby was and that when he took Carraway to lunch they were actually going to a speakeasy. In all, I felt this was a very accurate depiction of the story and it vividly brought to life the scenes that I saw dancing through my head while reading the tale. I enjoyed the movie's story just as much as I enjoyed the book's story. I phrased my endorsement as such because I greatly enjoyed reading the book because it is truly exciting when a story on pages can elicit such a electrifying response as this book did.
Since I enjoyed the movie so much, one might be wondering why I gave it a B+ rating instead of something in the A range. I feel good movies need to be ranked lower so there is always room to surpass my expectations and wow me with an exceptional movie. What happens when everything receives an A grade. There are only a few movies each year that I consider to be worthy of top marks. Those movies belong on a list I should make of my favorite all time movies. Perhaps in another blog...
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