StunnaKrypto
Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.
Actuakers
One of my all time favorites.
SincereFinest
disgusting, overrated, pointless
Tacticalin
An absolute waste of money
Paul Andrews
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is set in Boston where Harvard graduate doctor & scientist Dr. Henry Jekyll (Dougray Scott) has developed a serum that allows for the separate of the good & bad within us creating a distinct personality for each. Unfortunately Dr. Jekyll's bad side who calls himself Mr. Hyde likes to go around killing young women, six so far. Convinced that he is responsible Dr. Jekyll turns himself over to lawyer Claire Wheaton (Krista Bridges) & confesses all but she doesn't believe him at first, eventually Claire agrees to defend Jekyll & bases her case on the fact that Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde are two completely separate people. Will the jury buy it? Will Dr. Jekyll get the death penalty for Mr. Hyde's crimes?This Canadian made-for-telly updating of Robert Louis Stevenson's much filmed novel was directed by Paolo Barzman & only keeps the merest themes & ideas from the original book with the setting modern America unlike period London & after the first fifty odd minutes the film switches from bland Jekyll and Hyde to a dull courtroom drama as Jekyll stands trial. There's not much atmosphere or attention to detail here, the kills are forgettable & tame, there's no bubbling test tubes or ancient medical equipment & the reasoning here is some nonsense about ancient Amazonian medical practices using rare flowers which never really comes to anything, neither does the film as a whole really. The murder trial is boring, there's no mystery, there's zero tension, the character's are poor, the dialogue is forgettable & it just feels small scale, Dr. Jekyll's housekeeper is retained from the novel but the main focus of the film is Claire the lawyer as it is from her perspective the story is told. At almost 90 minutes it feels long & there's a really predictable twist ending which you can see coming a mile off, the whole affair although competent is just bland & fails to generate any excitement or tension.Filmed many times this Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is very modernized & it just doesn't feel like the classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde films, it feels like a TV film with bright lighting, a family friendly lack of violence & since when did turning in Mr. Hyde let you get run over & knocked about six feet up the road by a huge truck & just get up & walk away totally unhurt? There's zero gore here, Jekyll slits his wrists & a bit of blood is seen on the floor but that's it.Although set in Boston this was filmed in Montréal in Québec in Canada, the whole film looks bland & there's no sort of atmosphere or style at all. Dougray Scott is rather flat as Jekyll & not much better playing Hyde, Tom Skerritt has a small role as Jekyll's friend.Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a classic tale that has been filmed numerous times already going back to the 30's at least & this modern faceless & throughly dull adaption that turns into some horrible courtroom drama is surely unneeded & one of the worst & least recognisable when compared to the original Stevenson novel.
Mattphesto
As a borderline schizoid and fan of the original short story I'm always up for perusing any new J&H material. After catching this curio on Sky I felt compelled to comment. The usual themes of duality and the nature of guilt and morality are all present and correct. As is usual in most screen re-imaginings of Stephenson's tale an obligatory love-interest is tacked on in the form of a pretty female lawyer with whom Hyde confides. There's no real gratuitous violence or gore here, the horror seems to be attempting to stem from the psychological, unfortunately this never really gels together. As such, we're left with a fairly entertaining if unnecessary and understated (there's no real physical changes apparent between Henry & Edward) version of the familiar story. There's a fairly feeble 'twist' ending that anyone not recovering from recent cranial surgery should see coming at least a couple of furlongs off.5/10. P.S: For a vastly superior contemporary take on the tale viewers could do much worse than check out the recent BBC mini series 'Jekyll' starring James Nesbitt. It's available on DVD and well worth a watch.
Thierry Cadier
It's as simple as I said. Bizarre. Everyone knows the story of Jekyll and Hyde, and this version of it, well, it's weird... The acting of Scott is very good, don't be fooled that because the movie is horrible, the acting has to be too. As I don't want to give the whole movie, I will only express myself in one matter: I was disoriented when Hyde disappears on unexplained circumstances. I figure the director wanted to explain this by making Dr Jekyll say "it could have happened because..." but it's just not the way a movie is done. No matter how cliché it may sound, it has to be an explanation, otherwise they'll just make everyone wonder for the rest of the entire movie. Anyway, this is not a movia I'd recommend to see on a Friday night, but it's not a movie not to rent, it's always good to see something bad in order to really appreciate what is actually good.
wsmith-26
If you are wary of seeing the same movie redone again, and again, don't let that stop you from watching this version of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde.No, it is not perfect, and yes it does drag a bit, but there is enough here to recommend it to any horror fan.There is an interesting enough plot twist that explains Mr. Hyde's existence that gives a new angle to this old story. Dougray Scott is very good in the lead role, and the attorney representing Dr. Jekkyl (Krista Bridges) is very easy to look at and does a fine job in her role, as well.The transformations from Jekyll to Hyde are actually well done, inasmuch as they are not overdone.There is one major Hollywood moment - yes, the scientist discovers the antidote just as he is being arrested and is unable to administer it to himself. Oh, if he only had one more second! The trial is difficult to believe, but contrivances are something I have learned to live with as a horror fan.There is a very nice twist at the end, though not completely surprising.Although Tom Skerrit is heavily publicized in the ads for the movie, his role is actually rather small and unnecessary.Over all, well worth a watch.