Coriolanus: Enemigos a muerte

Going into the film, I really didn't know anything about it. Which is why i'm glad to say I was pleasantly surprised by this film.For a first time director Ralph Fiennes really did a great job making a modern adaptation of one of the lesser known Shakespeare works. I'm not a huge Shakespeare fan, but I have to say that the use of the his dialogue here actually worked in the context in the film even with the modern setting. Fiennes and Butler both do an amazing job and really carry the film as does the rest of the cast. The action sequences are also shot very well and realistically. I hope Fiennes continues to direct because he shows a lot of talent here. Don't let Shakespeare's name drive you away from this film! You don't have to be a fan of his work to enjoy it!

at first sigh, translation of Shakespeare's play in contemporary formulas. in fact, high performances, fresh spirit of original, Rome in a credible and strange images who remands wars and crisis, politic errors and hypocrisy. a film who explores roots, solutions, emotions, fake options . a film about heroes and their failure. about contemporary politic life because the laws, tricks are the same. result - a kind of House of Cards. not very different essence. only forms who reminds art of theater, an ambiguous genius , actors who gives proofs of admirable manner to resurrect a text and its substance. a provocative film. because it is not exactly adaptation of a play on screen. but a provocative portrait of power, duty and force of fundamental decisions.

This is my first review on IMDb so bare with me. Coriolanus has the right ingredients for a good movie, great story(can you top Shakespeare?) and a strong cast.Only thing that was unknown so far is the director.IMO Mr. Fiennes did very well in his debut, his camera moves around at eyes height and often lingers close up to actors faces(it keeps the film from being stagy and lets you see all the nuances they convey).Locations are interesting and there are couple of nice fight scenes.The language is Shakespirian but i had no problems understanding it( not my native lang.), musical score is kinda tribal and quite appropriate for the theme of the film. It's a very dark movie and it gets a bit bloody sometime so if you're not into that be warned. My vote is 8/10 i recommend it to everyone and hope to see more of Mr. Fiennes work behind the camera. P.S. Look out Ken Branagh you've got some competition now :)

'Coriolanus' is not an easy play to perform or stage, with Coriolanus not being easy to identify with, and dramatically is not as concise or as consistently gripping as other Shakespeare plays. One of Shakespeare's most compelling and more complex titular characters is one of the main interest points, regardless of whether he is likeable or not (more the latter), as well as it emphasizing a class divide that wouldn't be too out of date today, relevant politically and financially too.

Ralph Fiennes is a wonderful actor, with experience in Shakespeare including this role, and is just as talented a director. 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' particularly shows that off. And then we have a talented cast alongside him, including Vanessa Redgrave in a role that sounded perfect for her. 'Coriolanus' was his directing debut. To me, it was a most credible one in a surprisingly very strongly executed film that is to me one of the better recent cinematic Shakespeare adaptations and almost as good as the 1984 BBC Television Shakespeare and 2014 National Theatre Live productions in its own way.

By all means 'Coriolanus' is not a film exempt from flaws. The momentum does sag at times, especially in scenes that are particularly talky. Count me in as another person that didn't care for the news footage-like parts, Jon Snow's involvement has a disconcerting amount of unintentional humour that doesn't gel with what is going on and they just felt very heavy handed and out of place. The film would have been a lot better without them, maybe they were put there to make the story more relevant but there was no need for that as thematically the story is relevant today already.

Not all the cast work. Gerard Butler struck me as somewhat bland as Aufidius and too subdued. The role needs charisma and brutal intensity and Butler lacks both, or certainly the kind needed for the role as he didn't strike me as brutish enough. And of course Snow's involvement should have been left on the editing room floor.

Actually liked Jessica Chastain as Virgilia and thought that she brought a touching tenderness to her. Volumnia is one of 'Coriolanus' more complex characters and Redgrave gives a very powerful and both nuanced and firey performance, didn't think it was overcooked at all. Brian Cox is dignity and clever wit personified as Menenius. Best of all is a truly ferocious Fiennes, there is a lot of intensity to his performance in the difficult title role but he also brings vulnerability to the softer moments.

His direction is most credible, much of the character interaction sears, there is plenty of intrigue and the action is truly exciting and unyielding. That he did well at making the story accessible was appreciated while still having a very pull no punches approach. The visuals are grandiose and rich in style, the setting not looking ugly despite being suitably unforgiving as ought. The film is hauntingly scored and Shakespeare's text still resonates and while it is wordy it is mostly not overkill on that. Despite it being in old English, Shakespeare's work has always to me been accessible with so many interesting characters, themes and speeches and is fascinating to study, and the mix of his language and the non-traditional setting here in 'Coriolanus' actually work better than most Shakespeare cinematic adaptations to have a modern setting mixed with the original text.

Overall, didn't blow me away but impressive in a lot of areas. 7/10

I couldn't disagree more with the review that slates Shakespeare's text as 'too wordy for modern audiences'. Viewers may find it challenging, but even those who haven't read his work should appreciate his superb capacity for character, metaphor and sheer innovation. To reduce the play to just the plot with some poor, clichéd and genuinely meaningless Hollywood script is to deprive it of its value, and to do a great disservice to its literary status. The responsibility for understanding the language (which I staunchly believe has a timeless relevance), lies with those who struggle to do so, not with the text itself. I cannot disagree strongly enough with the implication that we should dumb-down Shakespeare.