Review of Beauty and the Beast (2017) by Viet D — 28 Apr 2017

Disney's original 1991 film was a masterful classic, and definitely one that would be difficult to outdo. This film does not do it, nor does it even come close. While the set and costume design were wonders and certainly deserve immense praise on their own, they unfortunately were not enough to cover for nothing more than a decent retelling of one of Disney's greatest. The film is a nearly beat-by-beat repeat of the 1991 film--which is not by any means a bad thing--but makes the interesting choice of adding about 10 minutes of additional backstory for Belle and a quick mention of a minor plot point to make Beast a more sympathetic character. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this, it really contributed nothing to the story overall. I personally found it strange that they chose to add more to the two main characters who already had a good amount of depth rather than choosing to give more insight into Gaston's character--an extremely two-dimensional character who regrettably remains so in this movie. There were a few more minor changes to the film, which overall helped to make it a bit more diverse as well as believable.

I fully believe that the actors did a fantastic job at singing, however the songs are so autotuned it's difficult to really appreciate them at all. Additionally, while the side characters lack the charm of their animated counterparts, the main duo make up for it with their excellent chemistry. The two leads work well together to produce a convincing romance, even if it's not quite as magical as the original. All in all, an undeniably good movie, though one that does not nearly come close to challenging its predecessor.