Review: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Hyped through the roof by both critics (Golden Globe win + Oscar nom + metascore 83) and viewers (imdb 8.2), somehow I thought maybe this being a musical wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe there will be a sweeping story, and Oscar wielding acting performances to boot. Just maybe.
Truth is, there’s just too much singing. While the two first songs gets us up to speed with background story, further singing is devoid of character and story development. The singing seems to elevate normal emotions to dramatic heights, but again, only for the first two songs. Later on, it’s just plain ridiculous, and honestly a bit gay (Johnny Depp and Alan Rickman duo up not once, but twice).
Anyone who doesn’t have a single gene for liking musicals in their system should steer clear of this one. In my mind though, replacing the songs with meaningful dialogue, still wouldn’t help this movie. In all it’s basic form, it’s a limited revenge story that’s horrendous in any way. Don’t expect any surprising redeeming quality of previous Johnny Depp/Tim Burton collaborations (like Corpse Bride).3.