The Great Gatsby

Ummmmmm..... so apparently not that great?

Arguably the most anticipated film of 2013, Directed by Baz Lurhmann and starring a powerhouse cast with Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey McGuire and Joel Edgerton. 

I'll start with the good points. Visually, it's spectacular. The costumes, the dancing, the scenery is all beautiful and exactly what you expect from a Baz production. I really enjoyed the mix of current and traditional music although this has been a sticking point for many. It felt a little like everyone was blowing a bit of smoke up Jay'Z's ass as he was originally commissioned for a song on the soundtrack, which ended up being 2 song's plus inclusions from his pals Beyonce, Kanye and will.i.am and then followed by a title as Executive Producer. But i'm not hatin on Jay, i'm down with Jay, it just felt a little like the Jay-Z show. The lovely Lana Del Ray penned piece 'Young and Beautiful' was ridiculously overused but for the most part I did enjoy the music.  

OK so the negatives...

The characters were totally unlikable and the storyline was flat and seeing how this is one of the most beloved stories of all times with some of the best actor's of today bringing the characters to life i'm going to have to put the responsibility on old Bazzy boy. 

The characters - Gatbsy is childlike and immature, Nick is naive and lacks a mind of his own and Daisy is selfish and materialistic. I unfortunately believe that Leo was miscast in this role and even though he looked delicious in character I think he struggled with the overacting that Baz favours in his films. Certain scenes that were meant to be comical instead felt a bit uncomfortable. 

The relationships themselves lacked any, I dunno, flesh perhaps? They were just thrown in front of you and you were just meant to believe their intensity. Baz has done some beautifully tragic love stories in the past, Romeo & Juliet plus Moulin Rouge still get my waterworks flowing. However the supposed 'tragedy' or even tragedies in this movie made me feel.... nothing, nada, bumpkis, zip. The only thing I could feel was the gurgling of my stomach from the nachos and ice-cream I had just demolished beforehand. 

It also really frustrates me when amazing Directors with unique and stylistic techniques just embrace CGI and forget about the tricks they once used to give their films their signature punch. Tim Burton is one of these Directors, once the king of quirky claymation effects is now a borefest with CGI dominated films. Baz Luurhmann is another. Baz's old techniques of stop/start fast motion, bursts of unexpected music and his famous over the top party scenes peppered throughout a comical yet highly emotional story were just mesmerising. But his lasts efforts with Australia and now Gatsby have just fallen flat. He even used CGI to show Gatsby's hand pulling a curtain closed - come on!!! WHY!?! It looks shithouse and is so easily achieved with a real hand. It doesn't even have to be Leo's hand! I just think it's lazy filmmaking. And come on Baz, but Gatsby's hand reaching out over the river was just redonk. Super corny. 

So to sum it all up The Great Gatsby is just like its leading lady Daisy - pretty on the outside but has no heart. 

2 outta 5.