Review of Beauty and the Beast (2017) by Nerdconsultant — 24 Mar 2017

So, where do I stand with Beauty and the Beast, because this is one of the more complicated films of the year for me. Well, on the one hand I like the fact that it’s a nice re-creation of the original film, which I enjoyed.

The downside is that that is also its biggest weakness. It doesn’t really feel like a new film, it just feels like a repeat, which would be fine for a stage show, but not an entire movie. Especially considering that Jungle Book and Cinderella did a much better job updating their stories.

I get a sense that Beauty and the Beast has not been around long enough to really warrant an update since the original one still holds up, there are not that many issues with it and it narratively is still as relevant now as it was upon its release in the 1990’s and it’s so evident here, every moment you are seeing something that is in the original film, you are getting a sense that it was done much better there and it really makes you feel that the minor changes and additions feel like they detract from the film more than they add.

Again, it’s not to say it’s bad. The actors do a decent job, the effects are pretty good and the set design is fantastic, I expect to be seeing this film nominated in several of the technical categories at next year’s Oscars.

However, to me, it just feels rather ‘been there, done that, and it was much better the first time’. I don’t hate this movie, in fact, I kind of like it on a few levels and I wouldn’t object to seeing it again as I suspect this is probably going to become a mainstay of British TV at Christmas.

However, I can’t fully recommend Beauty and the Best, especially if you enjoyed the first film.