Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (2008)
* 1/2 (out of 4)
Modern updating of the Robert Louis Stevenson's novel has a serial killer stalking the people of Boston. It turns out to be the respected Dr. Jekyll (Dougray Scott) who while on a trip overseas came up with a potion and when used on himself it turned him into the murderous Mr. Hyde. With the help of a friend (Tom Skerritt) Jekyll is able to get a lawyer (Krista Bridges) who tries to understand him. I've seen well over a dozen versions of this classic novel and I must say this is the first one where Hyde kisses Jekyll on the mouth. I'm not one who is against familiar things being changed around as the London setting has been moved to Boston and it takes place during modern times. I think this could have been used to the film's benefit but instead it just bogs down the story even more as we get silly special effects of Jekyll looking at his monitors before turning into Hyde. This movie offers up a few interesting ideas about the good/evil side of the character but it's all pretty much wasted. I really didn't care for the direction because it seems like Barzman was trying too hard to be stylish and this is clearly a case where less would have been a lot more. Just take a look at many of the transformation scenes and you'll see that the camera is constantly twirling and spinning around and it really does look as if the scenes were being filmed during an earthquake. I'm guessing this was done to try and build up some tension but it never works. We also get other scenes where the camera quickly zooms in and then we're treated to some fast-cut editing, which just makes the entire film look even cheaper than it is. The screenplay doesn't do enough with the current settings and just wait to you see what happens once Jekyll is captured and put on trial. Scott isn't bad but he's not good either. He certainly gives a decent performance and especially when you consider what type of film this is but I had a real problem with both the Hyde and Jekyll characters as he really didn't bring much out of either. Skerritt doesn't get to do too much but it's always nice seeing him. I did enjoy Bridges performance but one only wishes it had been in a better movie. There are so many versions of this story out there that if you're new to them then it's a no-brainer that you should skip this one. If you're like me and enjoy tracking down as many versions as you can then you might want to give this a rental but don't have your expectations too high.
* 1/2 (out of 4)
Modern updating of the Robert Louis Stevenson's novel has a serial killer stalking the people of Boston. It turns out to be the respected Dr. Jekyll (Dougray Scott) who while on a trip overseas came up with a potion and when used on himself it turned him into the murderous Mr. Hyde. With the help of a friend (Tom Skerritt) Jekyll is able to get a lawyer (Krista Bridges) who tries to understand him. I've seen well over a dozen versions of this classic novel and I must say this is the first one where Hyde kisses Jekyll on the mouth. I'm not one who is against familiar things being changed around as the London setting has been moved to Boston and it takes place during modern times. I think this could have been used to the film's benefit but instead it just bogs down the story even more as we get silly special effects of Jekyll looking at his monitors before turning into Hyde. This movie offers up a few interesting ideas about the good/evil side of the character but it's all pretty much wasted. I really didn't care for the direction because it seems like Barzman was trying too hard to be stylish and this is clearly a case where less would have been a lot more. Just take a look at many of the transformation scenes and you'll see that the camera is constantly twirling and spinning around and it really does look as if the scenes were being filmed during an earthquake. I'm guessing this was done to try and build up some tension but it never works. We also get other scenes where the camera quickly zooms in and then we're treated to some fast-cut editing, which just makes the entire film look even cheaper than it is. The screenplay doesn't do enough with the current settings and just wait to you see what happens once Jekyll is captured and put on trial. Scott isn't bad but he's not good either. He certainly gives a decent performance and especially when you consider what type of film this is but I had a real problem with both the Hyde and Jekyll characters as he really didn't bring much out of either. Skerritt doesn't get to do too much but it's always nice seeing him. I did enjoy Bridges performance but one only wishes it had been in a better movie. There are so many versions of this story out there that if you're new to them then it's a no-brainer that you should skip this one. If you're like me and enjoy tracking down as many versions as you can then you might want to give this a rental but don't have your expectations too high.