RyothChatty ridiculous rating

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

LaDonna Keskes This looks like another vanity vehicle for Ralph Fiennes--he's done Hamlet, he's done Harry Potter, he's done Eugene Onegin--let's do MAGWICH.Since when is gentle Joe Garger ready to go fisticuffs with the man who wants to give Pip a better life? This guy looks like Keith Urban and acts like a thug. And why did they have to paint Pip's sister with such an evil child-abusing brush? And then there's Fiennes' Magwich, who is a scowling slimy fusterer with neither menace nor warmth. He stoops, he shuffles, he fumbles, but he's not convincing. The other characters are completely forgettable nonentities. Mike Newell's direction plunges his characters into almost total darkness, and as such there's nothing for the eye to watch, and very little worth listening to in the script.There's entirely too much brawling and violence--and of course we HAVE to have the money shot in Miss Havisham's burnt-black face--in this movie that provides nothing but a nasty distraction to the story. And, of course, there is another tacked-on happy ending. I thought the movie would at least be as honest as Estella was with Pip.Save your time and watch David Lean's most excellent version. Even with its tacked-on happy ending, it's just a better movie to watch, and Ralph Fiennes can't come within a mile of Finlay Currie, a genuinely frightening visage whose human heart is eventually revealed in a scene that still moves me to tears.It's a star turn for Fiennes, whom I would think had better judgment.

l_rawjalaurence Thematically speaking, Mike Newell's GREAT EXPECTATIONS depicts a world in which money talks: where rich n'er-do-wells such as Bentley Drummle (Ben Lloyd-Hughes) manage to find the girls of their choice, while fundamentally good people such as Pip (Toby/ Jeremy Irvine) end up unlucky. To survive in this world, Pip has to shed his humanity; this is especially evident in his offhand treatment of Joe Gargery (Jason Flemyng), when the blacksmith comes to visit him in London. Likewise Estella (Helena Barlow/ Holliday Granger) is brought up in a world where any display of emotion or human feeling is considered weak; hence she believes it is her destiny to marry Bentley, even though the couple are not in love with one another. The quintessential representative of this rapacious world is Jaggers (Robbie Coltrane), who believes that everything - including human beings - are to be bought and sold for money. Hence Joe Gargery should be happy to accept twenty-five guineas in exchange for Pip. Unless you've got money, you'll not have any Great Expectations. Newell's film is also very good at depicting the relationships between Pip, Estella and Miss Havisham (Helena Bonham Carter) - although somewhat young for the role, Bonham Carter comes across as a fundamentally vindictive person, who enjoys playing with Estella and Pip's feelings in revenge for her own frustrations at being jilted on her wedding-day several years previously. As with most BBC- inspired costume dramas, the sense of place is beautifully evoked, even though Jim Clay's production designs; nineteenth-century London is a teeming, threatening world in which self-interest prevails. This is contrasted with the rural Kent coast where Joe and his sister (Sally Hawkins), a lonely world of sprawling landscapes and russet sunsets. Perhaps the only criticism that might be leveled at this adaptation is the fact that David Nicholls' screenplay runs out of steam somewhat: the plot-details are rather hurriedly wrapped up in the last half-hour at the expense of characterization and atmosphere. This is a shame, as it deflects out attention from the developing relationship between Pip and Abel Magwitch (Ralph Fiennes), which proves beyond doubt that compassion is far more significant than money to ensure human survival.

Shopaholic35 I know it sounds stupid but I was expecting this version of Great Expectations to be more modern. This movie feels tiresome and just another period piece remake of a Charles Dickens's novel. Where is the new interpretation? Is it so hard to think outside the box. There are already at least 6 versions of this movie that are completely identical, do we need another...I think not.I genuinely attempted to enjoy this movie but it felt dated and drawn out. Honestly there does not seem to be enough subject matter to warrant a 2 hour movie. The trend of thinking a good movie needs to be over 2 hours nowadays is actually hurting the storytelling and flow of what should be great movies.I will give Helena Bonham Carter credit though as she livens up the movie a little but even she doesn't have the acting chops to save this sinking ship.

daveattis1983 I don't have too much to say about this movie, either you are already familiar with the book and famous story and therefore don't need me to recap any of it for you, or you aren't and anything I say will just ruin the plot for you! The acting in the movie is better than I expected, I've always been a fan of Helena Bonham Carter (usually her Tim Burton movies) but I wasn't sure she was right for this role. She did a great job though. Overall it's just a bit disappointing. The movie as a whole is not as good as all of the different parts added up should be. The director's not bad but I guess it's a case of something that had pardon the pun "great expectations" that are so high it's impossible to meet them.