O Domínio do Mal

Well actually it is adapted from a play from Shakespeare, but it's not your typical Shakespearian adaptation you'll get here. Although the dialog seems to be spoken as it stood in the book (I don't know it word for word, but they use Shakespearian "language"), the whole thing is brought into a more modern world. It's not the first movie to do so, but I guess it's the first to be quite so brutal about it (literally speaking in this case).

The acting is quite good and with a bit of settling in time, you'll not even notice that this is done after a Shakespeare play, but see it as an action-drama (movie). And if you can do that, than you can enjoy it too (as much as it is possible for you).

Sam Worthington has an interesting take on the character of Macbeth but overall his performance was surprisingly compelling. There's some really good and some really not so good aspects to this film. Firstly, It's all shot with HD cameras, which is a fairly brave move as it's an emerging discipline and I think was managed rather well *mostly* I really am unable to comment with any authority on the accuracy or delivery of the lines, not having read or seen Macbeth, but apart from a few almost comically ocker Aussie delivered lines, it was handled with a fair degree of finesse and even didn't feel out of place for the majority of the movie.

The action scenes (of which there are surprisingly many) are well choreographed and shot.. with the exception of the big finale schlock-fest, which seems entirely shot in slow-motion and to be honest felt like it was more a bad remake of the ending of scarface than Macbeth.

The only other, fairly minor gripe I had was with the soundtrack.. which felt like it could have needed some more money/polishing/talent. Nice effort but not at all satisfying.

A very hyped-up, slick, edgy reinterpretation.

They've fallen into the "because it's modern, it has to be hyped-up, slick, etc." trap.

"Romeo and Juliet" carried this idea off much more successfully, but I really think it's time we move beyond the two extremes here (period piece vs. edgy film).

Just because this is a "modern" retelling, doesn't mean the movie has to look like a magazine ad, or have anything to do with drugs or guns.

If the trappings were as subtle as the honeyed words, Macbeth would be a far more powerful film. As it is, read your Shakespeare. Read it out loud. Ask your Oxford dictionary some questions. Skip the film. Or don't, but you've been warned.

Sorry for the super-long review. IMDb made me do it.

Saw this at a preview screening today. I have never seen the Director's most famous film, Romper Stomper, and know it only by reputation. My guess is this very graphic and bloody version will satisfy his fans and many others. Doubt I would recommend it to anyone who was unfamiliar with the play but, taken simply as a film, I believe it is excellent. Superb cinematography and great sound track back up a 'reading' of the play that seems to me to have real integrity.

I note the current average rating on IMDb is a fraction over 3/10. Assuming the vast bulk of those are votes by the illiterate and inexperienced voters with a mental age of 12 who usually bulk out the meter, that probably bodes well for what is quite an exceptional film. If you don't know the play, for god's sake read it and don't send your ignorant comments to this forum.

Perhaps it was the fact that I went to see the movie after reading the (mostly) negative reviews here, but I found that the movie far exceeded my expectations. It's true that the dialog comes off as a little odd when the movie first starts but it was easy to adjust to and by the end, as another reviewer said, it really seems to fit with the movie. Sam Worthington does an excellent job at playing the haunted character of Macbeth. For the most part the other actors do extremely well with their role as well. The action scenes seem to have songs that are actually appropriate as opposed to ones focusing on what big star they can throw in.

All in all, I think it certainly deserves a higher rating than it has been receiving. It may not be the movie of the year but it was extremely enjoyable.