Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

This is yet another version of Robert Louis Steveson's THE STRANGE CASE OF DOCTOR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE and if truth be told this is possibly the most bland version you will see . It's inoffensive containing the sort of material that'd make it through he censors of a dull daytime TV soap . It is as uninvolving as it is inoffensive . Director Paolo Barzman doesn't have a big enough budget to do the story justice and much of the story is told in medium close up and we get some very choppy editing . When Doctor Jekyll relates a story about being in the Amazon we don't get an establishing shot of wild untamed majestic shots of the tropical rain forest we get a close up of a fire and a couple of Oriental extras giving the impression that it was filmed in someone's fireside living room . Hey I wonder if ....

Scottish actor Dougray Scott plays the title character and he's somewhat ill cast in the role . His American accent is totally unconvincing as Dr Henry Jekyll and seems to think Mr Hyde is a bit of a camp homosexual , honestly the villain comes across as some pantomime dame and will have you booing and hissing and throwing popcorn at the screen . It's not even bad enough to be entertaining high camp , just ... oh what's the word ? ... oh bland . That's the word I'm looking for

That said I did see Dougray Scott in an episode of DOCTOR WHO a couple of weeks ago and his performance was probably the best thing about the episode so one wonders if he could be a ready made replacement for Matt Smith once he leaves the role . At the very worst Scott giving a bad performance as the Doctor would be ..... bland

This new versions boasts an acceptable cast , such as Dougray Scott giving a bravura acting as the infamous Doctor , Tom Skerritt and Krista Bridges . Run-of-the-mill rendition of Robert Louis Stevenson 's popular story dealing with Henry Jekyll : Dougray Scott and his own nemesis , Hyde. Jekyll is a well-regarded physician whose evenings are spent researching a rare and sacred Amazonian flower so potent it's said to literally separate the soul, giving life to man's Dark Self. These experiments lead to release of his ruthless alter ego Mr Hyde . Dr. Henry Jekyll . The obsessive experiments to isolate its psychotropic properties happen to coincide with a series of brutal murders gripping the city with fear . Dougray/Jekyll/Hyde himself becomes a raging beast driven to terrible deeds with creepy results . Jekyll is a doctor who dares to venture into the unknown , but things go wrong when Hyde exects criminal acts and violent incidents . He knows the Dark Self is coming into his own. It's even given himself a name : Mr. Edward Hyde. Where he can no longer do harm, Jekyll solicits the help of Claire Wheaton : Krista Bridges . He awakens with bloody mementos and violent memories of the screams of his victims . Agreeing to represent Jekyll , her case for extreme mental imbalance is convincing . Confined to a jail , Jekyll realizes that he has lost control, that Hyde now emerges in both body and soul on a horrifying whim, and slaughters with equal abandon. Hyde also knows that Claire is looking to suppress him. Are You a Jeykll or a Hyde? Do you have secret longings that you dare not reveal? If you do, it's the Mr. Hyde in you .There is a little bit of both in everybody!.It Chills you! Half-Man ! Half-Monster!. Everyone has a dark side !.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (2008) contains thrills, suspense , chills , mystery , horrifying scenes , all of them you can find out all about it from this TV film . This is the classic and known story of the famous novelist Robert Louis Stevenson in which Hyde pits everyone against each other , while Jekyll struggles to retain control over the insidious other half. Here is blended the Robert Stevenson's vintage story with the criminal court genre . As Dr. Jekyll, unable to stop himself from transforming into the murderous Mr. Hyde, wants his attorney to secure him a speedy trial, a guilty verdict and a quick execution. It is a so-so film , but neither notable , not awesome , but simply passable. The horror of Jekyll transformation into Hyde is played down in favor of the psychological and emotional consequences . What's more important is the relation among the three main characters : Scott , Bridges and Skerritt . Actors are pretty good , giving decent interpretations . Main and support cast are adequate , Dougray Scott plays an anxious doctor to plead guilty, waive trial, face sentence, and be put out of his misery, relying on heavy make-up as well as conforting his face , along with Krista Bridges as a compassionate attorney attracted to unusual and lost causes and the veteran Tom Skerritt as his faithful friend . This routine retelling was produced by Robert Halmi Sr and regularly directed by Paolo Barzman who has shot lots of episodes of popular series (Being Human , Lost Girl , Killjoys, The Phantom, The Last Templar , Dark Matter , Bomb Girls , Haven , SurrealEstate , Wynonna Earp) .

This classy Robert Louis Stevenson novel has been adapted a large number of times : the first silent 1920 rendition performed by John Barrymore . 1931 adaptation by Robert Mamoulian with Frederic March, Míriam Hopkins . Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde 1941 by Victor Fleming with Spencer Tracy , Lana Turner , Ingrid Bergman, that's still considered to be one of the finest film version . The two faces of Doctor Jekyll 1960 by Terence Fisher with Paul Massie , Dawn Addams and Chistopher Lee. 1968 by Charles Jarrot with Jack Palance , Denholm Elliott , Oscar Homolka . 1971 by Roy Ward Baker with Martine Beswick, Ralph Bates , Gerald Sim. 1973 by David Winters with Kirk Douglas , Michael Redgrave , Donald Pleasence , Susan George . 1995 by David Price with Sean Young , Tim Daly , Harvey Fierstein. 1999 by Colin Budds with Adam Baldwin , among others.

First and most important, the film is solid and entertaining and Scott gives the performance of his life.

Most interesting to this reviewer was how ambitious this production was. In the first decade of the millennium, the Canuck industry was still trying to find itself. Soul searching.

Ultimately the industry would decide it was easier and more profitable to aim for niche product other producers had avoided.

Which is why (and I have said this before) 90% of the X-Mas movies that appear in late fall are Canadian, and without shame or apology.

(There is even a 100% Canuck version of Miracle on 34th Street, but that is another review entirely).

Canada is also where franchises go to die, which is why you might see might see version 4 or 5 of a film series you did not know HAD a 4 or 5..? Canada to the rescue.

So in 2008 we had a rare in stance of Canada perhaps getting too ambitious for its own good, and this is the result. For Canadians, it is almost comic to see Toronto pretending to be a US city -- again -- and reporters carrying mikes where the call letters start with "W".

That said, the film is solid. Skerritt picked up a paycheck for doing only a few scenes and Krista Bridges -- an actress you would ordinarily only see in the aforesaid X-Mas knockoffs -- also does a solid job.

Recommended.

If you picked up some poo and clapped your hands together you would have more fun, Mr. Hyde lands in the dull section and never leaves it. Scott isn't perfect but his performance(s) are the best part of the film which is not saying a lot. He seems to be enjoying himself as Mr Hyde but he would look more at home in a gay bar he is just to camp to be believable and it adds little to the audience's enjoyment. Hyde isn't exactly scary, more like a mix between The Joker and Jack Sparrow but whatever the mix it does not work or come together. He also isn't monstrous, which disappointed me no end. The ending was obvious and a real let down when it could have been much more so you end up feeling flat and thinking there goes 90 minutes of my life I wont get back, there is no suspense whats so ever and Mr Hyde is about as scary as watching paint dry. The court scene is laughable. In a word AVOID.

The Story of Dr.Jekyll and Mr Hyde in general is good. The books is great. There have been some great films based on it. Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde (1931) is a great film. Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1920) is a great film. Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1941) is a great film. This one is very disappointing. The story line is awful. And it has an awful ending. It is very slow. The hole thing became a court room drama trying to prove that Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde are not same person. It was based on the book but it did not say very true to it. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1912) is great. But this is pooh pooh. This is a big stinky fart. Don't wast your money.