Review Roundup: ROMEO & JULIET Try to Revive a Tale of Love

Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare's epic and searing tale of love, is revitalized on screen by writer Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey) and director Carlos Carlei (The Flight of the Innocent). An ageless story from the world's most renowned author is reimagined for the 21st Century.

This adaptation is told in the lush traditional setting it was written, but gives a new generation the chance to fall in love with the enduring legend. With an all-star cast including Hailee Steinfeld, Douglas Booth, Paul Giamatti and Stellan Skarsgard, it affords those unfamiliar with the tale the chance to put faces to the two names they've undoubtedly heard innumerable times: Romeo and Juliet. (c) Relativity Media.

Let's see what the critics have to say...

Justin Chang: Variety: "Mileage will vary on this point, but as a rule, no Romeo should be prettier than his Juliet, and from the moment he's introduced - wearing a loose-fitting tunic, looking ready to do something vaguely artistic with a chisel, and pouting like a proud graduate of the Scarlett Johansson School for Full-Lipped Thespians - Booth looks less like a sensitive, ardently romantic youth than the frontman for some Renaissance-era boy band. Given that the two young leads aren't ideally matched visually or verbally, it's no wonder their tragic love story never quite gets off the ground, though the absence of chemistry, much less sexual heat, is scarcely the sole area in which this "Romeo & Juliet" comes up short."

Steven Rea, The Philadelphia Inquirer: "...this Romeo and Juliet - set in Verona, and shot there, too, with its bricks and balustrades, its frescoes and fine light - has been chopped and diced by Julian Fellowes, the creator of Downton Abbey. There are chunks of Shakespeare's familiar verse, to be sure, but much has been hacked, and the language streamlined and modernized here and there."

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: "Though the effort in this "Romeo" is earnest, the film fails to capture the Shakespearean essence of the many tragedies trotted out. The florid and heedless love where feelings are hurt, families are rent, grudges are roiled, social conventions are defied, remains far too polite. This is Shakespeare lite, which ultimately makes for Shakespeare slightly trite. Oh the woe."

Todd Gilchrist, The Wrap: "In stark contrast to other versions of this story that condensed Shakespeare's florid language into digestible bites, Fellowes shows admirable commitment to the source material and yet is remarkably successful at making it feel accessible. Carlei pairs it with imagery that feels suitably theatrical - sweeping curls of dust precede the arrival of Tybalt as he arrives to challenge Romeo - and then guides the actors to find the emotion behind the words."

Elizabeth Weitzman, NY Daily News: "The gorgeous Italian palazzos and gardens nicely set off several strong performances from the grownups. Damian Lewis of "Homeland" is especially deft as Juliet's dad. Lesley Manville makes a delightful Nurse. And Paul Giamatti invites all our empathy as the Friar whose plans go awry. Regrettably, the more confident performances also highlight what's missing: Romeo's passion, Juliet's awakening and any depth of delivery from either lead."

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: "If Carlei's intention was to put his own stamp on the tragedy and create something that will endure for a generation, it hasn't happened. This is a prettily made motion picture and it held my attention for its running length. I was invested in the characters and their situations. Perhaps that's all we have the right to expect from Romeo & Juliet in 2013. But, like many Shakespeare adaptations, this one is likely to be relegated by history to the stable of average, barely remembered iterations."

Liam Lacey, The Globe and Mail: "Even among his cohort, though, this Romeo barely stands out. The motor-mouthed Mercutio (Christian Cooke), the puppy-eyed Benvolio (Kodi Smit-McPhee) and the hotheaded Tybalt (Ed Westwick) are all similar handsome, dark-haired, pale young men, who look like they should be characters in the same boy band. Perhaps that's fair enough: Steinfeld (the indomitable Mattie Ross in the Coen brothers' True Grit) seems about the age of a One Direction fan."

Stephen Witty, Newark Star-Ledger: "You feel that, if only one of them were sent to sleepaway camp for a month, the whole thing would be forgotten.Nor has the workmanlike director Carlo Carlei, a veteran of Italian TV, contributed much either. The wall-to-wall music (which clashes, ludicrously, with the period instruments being shown played at the ball) is never more or less than obvious. And while the environs (mostly Verona) are lovely, some touches - Romeo is now, apparently, a budding Michelangelo, always whipping something up in marble - are just silly."

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