Review of Cinderella (2015) by Opinionatedguy — 06 Apr 2015

Initially, I had no interest watching this movie. Because when I watched the trailer, it’s didn’t leave a strong impression on me. But I heard some good reviews about the movie so I decided to see the movie.

Cinderella is an okay movie for me. It’s a movie that I won’t watch again. However, among the live action remakes that Disney is doing right now, Cinderella is Disney’s best live action remake effort so far even though Alice in Wonderland is my favorite over Maleficent and Cinderella. It’s because this remake effort recaptures the happy, light spirit of the original Disney classic of the same name instead of making it dark and a bit gritty than usual for Disney’s taste which is attempted in Alice in Wonderland and Maleficent.

The plot and the characters in Cinderella are quite one-dimensional which is understandable given its fairy tale status in its source material. That is probably why I couldn’t enjoy the movie more than I want to. However, the humor does not feel forced and it’s a bit light-hearted unlike Alice in Wonderland and Maleficent.

Despite their characters’ being one dimensional, the cast performances from Lily James and Richard Madden as the titular character and Prince Charming are marvelous to watch. But my favorite cast performer is Cate Blanchett who plays Lady Tremaine. While her character still feels one dimensional, Blanchett elevated her character and became the most interesting character in the movie.

My favorite part of the movie was the direction from Kenneth Branagh. His direction was also my favorite part of Thor so I want to see him again directing the third Thor movie which I am optimistic that he will given Cinderella’s success. The visuals and the cinematography was stunning and beautiful to watch and that attributes positively to Branagh’s directing.

Overall, Cinderella is not the movie I would watch again but it gives me a good taste in my mouth with stellar cast performances from Lily James, Richard Madden and Cate Blanchett, excellent directing from Kenneth Branagh and stunning, beautiful visuals and cinematography.