Gobble, Gobble. This movie is one big turkey.
Shakespeare is tricky. Do him well and you have a thing of beauty. But don't do him well and you are left with something that is almost painful to watch.
The idea of this version of "Hamlet" is interesting: Transport the story to modern day New York City. Unfortunately, the creativity stopped right there. The modern day NYC idea was only half thought out and the movie was cast very poorly. The end result looks and feels at times as if it were a Saturday Night Live comedy sketch, not a genuine attempt attempt at Shakespeare.
Ethan Hawke is okay as Hamlet. Not bad, but he certainly won't make you forget about Laurence Olivier. Kyle McLaughlin looks as though he'd much rather be tracking down Laura Palmer's killer. Bill Murray is lost. And Julia Stiles wanders around pouting and wondering how in the world she's supposed to say these poems so that they sound like lines.
Rent this if you are curious to know how a production of Shakespeare can go seriously wrong. But if you really want to see a good version of "Hamlet", rent the 1948 version instead.
Shakespeare is tricky. Do him well and you have a thing of beauty. But don't do him well and you are left with something that is almost painful to watch.
The idea of this version of "Hamlet" is interesting: Transport the story to modern day New York City. Unfortunately, the creativity stopped right there. The modern day NYC idea was only half thought out and the movie was cast very poorly. The end result looks and feels at times as if it were a Saturday Night Live comedy sketch, not a genuine attempt attempt at Shakespeare.
Ethan Hawke is okay as Hamlet. Not bad, but he certainly won't make you forget about Laurence Olivier. Kyle McLaughlin looks as though he'd much rather be tracking down Laura Palmer's killer. Bill Murray is lost. And Julia Stiles wanders around pouting and wondering how in the world she's supposed to say these poems so that they sound like lines.
Rent this if you are curious to know how a production of Shakespeare can go seriously wrong. But if you really want to see a good version of "Hamlet", rent the 1948 version instead.