Carmen: A Hip Hopera

I really liked this one. I thought they did a great job of updating the story to the present day in a clever, believable way. I'm not a particular fan of hip-hop, either. There were some really clever lyrics (my favorite was the argument scene), yet the original score does underlie the whole thing. I liked it much better than "Carmen Jones," the 50s version of "Carmen" which degenerates into Broadway schlock at times.

The man who played the evil cop did a really terrific job, and I hear he's usually a singer, not an actor. The supporting roles were really well interpreted and the people who played them well-chosen. I very much enjoyed the fortune teller, who seemed really ominous with his voodoo/Jamaican aura. The leads shined.

My main gripe with the whole thing was the camera work, which was rather distracting at times. For example, there is a meta-commentary at the beginning and end of the movie, a rap done by a woman, and the camera constantly changes angles and splits into multiple images of the artist. I'd have much preferred a straight shot so that I could pay attention to what she's saying and her body language, which were good.

Overall, I loved it and will see it again.

Poorly acted, unconvincing "modern" adaption of Bizet's classic opera. Saddled with a two-dollar production look and a cast of (with the exception of Phifer) unprofessional actors. One fairly interesting bit is a few parts which actually set Bizet's music to raps, which only works intermittently. Inferior to both the original and Oscar Hammerstein's similarly overblown 1950s adaption (filmed, if I remember right, memorably by Otto Preminger).

All fans of musicals should avoid it, even though it holds out the promise of being a new type of musical. All fans of hip hop should avoid it, because it forces a cast that is incredibly talented in musical areas to act with hokey dialogue and no direction. It should especially be taken on for taking Mos Def, a genius of lyrics, and making him rap to mediocre lines written by some bozo the clown.

Townsend should really be taken to the cleaners over this, and in the future he should probably be advised to look the other way when offered TV productions with a look like my mama's basement (and she hasn't got one, folks).�

This movie made me howl with laughter because it was so bad. Bad acting, especially by 'Bouncy' Knowles, bad editing and horrible looking blue screen work. None of the songs were memorable and the 'film' looked like a overlong music video. Robert Townsend did great with Hollywood Shuffle and has gone downhill ever since....give up Robert!

This movie was a very good start for MOS DEF for beyonce she should stick to singing. As you watch the movie mos def (Frank Miller)took the whole movie to a different level, while beyonce's acting killed to whole movie, through out the movie it seems she is reading the script word by word. If you like freestyle rap and a TV-movie plot this a very good movie but I WARN YOU beyonce's acting might force you to change the channel.

I tend to agree with the two earlier posts. While the opera is well updated, there is something lacking in the script. The music is excellently produced, and while I am not a fan of hip hop, the music does tend to portray the feelings of the characters. I'm pleasantly suprised over the acting, as I find that many musicians can't act nearly as well on screen as they can in their videos. The director did an excellent job, although the sometimes cheesy-ness of the music scenes does take away from the over-all visual feeling of the movie. The colours are vibrant and real, and you feel for the characters at moments, but sometimes yr just as lost as this movie seems to be. However lost it may be though, it would be worth watching if yr bored.. or doing yr homework as I am. I wouldn't be suprised to see Beyonce Knowles do more film work later. :)