Seriously dull. Really did not enjoy this!!!
Good Movie
Seriously overrated. Casting could have done a much better job finding actors/actresses that can actually sing. Based on my college roommate's obsession with the novel/musical, I can honestly say I was disappointed. I basically used it as background noise, as the plot was difficult to get into and the vocals weren't that great (although Anne Hathaway has a decent set of lungs).
I went to see this with my mom and sister just before Christmas and I assumed that "Musical" meant that there would be some singing and some normal talking. Turns out it's entirely singing which took me off guard and about 30 minutes in I was beginning to regret my decision to see this movie. However, as it goes on the songs get much better, the story gets more interesting, and it really connected with me emotionally. Jackman is a solid lead actor, Crowe is simultaneously the worst singer and best actor in the movie, Hathaway's role is smaller than I thought it would be but still powerful, the entire young cast was amazing, and Bonham Carter and Baron Cohen teamed up perfectly for some much needed comic relief.
Some people like to whine about how the professional actors have "bad" voices. The reason for that is because their job is to act and the singing is just a secondary feature. Also I prefer that they aren't professional singers. Professional singers all have the same boring voice and it wouldn't really get as emotional if the actor's voices were pitch perfect as it does with these real voices.
Overall, there isn't much that it does wrong and as long as you like long movies and are able to get used to the singing, you will enjoy it.
This flick was of interest to me for two reasons: One, my mom is a longtime fan of Broadway musicals, especially this one, so, I grew up hearing the songs and knowing the story. While I've never read the Victor Hugo novel--I know; what kind of reader am I?--I've become familiar with it thanks to its various interpretations. Two, Anne Hathaway is an old Hollywood "flame" of mine. In March of 2005, she replaced Hilary Duff as my number one favorite female celebrity after I saw Ella Enchanted thanks to a friend's recommendation. (Believe it or not, not only was that friend of the male gender, he was a former drill sergeant; no joke!) So, when I saw this recently at a garage sale, I knew I had to give it a whirl.
In short: I was blown away. The grand scope of the story; the performances, especially from Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, and Samantha Barks; the authentic sets; the musical numbers; pretty much everything about this flick wowed me. Better yet, it portrayed faith in God in a positive light; so much so, I almost felt like I was watching a Pure Flix production at times. An appearance by original Broadway cast member Colm Wilkinson was a plus. Not since the celluloid adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera have I been this impressed with such a film. Despite their popularity and my penchant for Disney Channel media, even the High School Musical and Camp Rock flicks didn't have such an effect on me.
However, I did have one quibble: There were certain moments that I found unnecessary. I understand that violence and sex were a big part of the original novel, and any faithful adaptation would have to be at least "PG-13"; still, there were a few brief scenes that could have been left out, and that would have embarrassed me if I'd had a friend--especially one from my church--watching it with me. So, discerning viewers may want to proceed with caution.
A couple of the songs got me, and the performances of Ms. Hathaway and Ms. Seyfried were impressive, but this story does not work in 2016, or 2012 for that matter. Also, I feel sorry for Mr. Crowe. Someone should have told him not to "sing".
A little too long, unsatisfactory background historical and moral. But it had its moments. Anne Hathway was sensational, truly touching. Musically was well.
Wow Amazing.
O filme é ótimo! É uma grande adaptação do musical, com cenas cativantes. Retrata bem a vida dos mais pobres na França séc. XIX, suas revoluções, enfim. Está presente também o humor sensacional do casal Thénardier. Destaque para a cena espetacular de Anne Hathaway cantando "I Dreamed a Dream". Bom filme.
The movies was really good, especially because the music is awesome (I was afraid they wouldn't use the original scores!).
Not all of the actors are good singers too. Especially Amanda Seyfried is horrible (she doesn't even look that good :( ). I didn't expect Russell Crowe to be in this movie and he also wasn't too good a singer but at least he tried ;)
I have to admit, even though Anne Hathaway did her job well enough, I don't understand how she got an Academy Award for that – looks like no serious competitors ;)
I'm biased, as I've been an avid Les Mis fan for almost two decades. Nevertheless, I didn't expect the film version to have Broadway-type singing, but I really warmed up to the live singing. The theatrical experience is of course brilliant, but what the actors lacked in voice they made up with raw acting and emotional close-ups. I thought it was a great film adaption of the musical. If you don't like the musical, then obviously you will not like this film, but I think Les Mis fans everywhere will rejoice. (PS Crowe wasn't as bad as some people made him out to be!)
Wow, better than expected. Even Borat was great :)
this movie is brilliant and so much fun. the cast is great and i actually really enjoyed crowe as javert.
I love musical theatre, and "Les Misérables" is no exception. While it might not top my list of favorite musicals, there's no denying its brilliance. The cast's live singing in the film is absolutely tremendous. Every actor delivers incredible performances both in acting and singing.
The story, though heart-wrenching, is profoundly touching. "Les Misérables" is a musical that leaves a lasting impact, a cinematic experience that combines exceptional talent with a narrative that tugs at the heartstrings. It's a must-see for any musical enthusiast. :notes::fr::performing_arts:
i love every inch of this heavy-handed, poorly shot, badly sung masterpiece to pieces and it makes me wanna believe in god
Such peculiar choices throughout, almost none of which really work. The most baffling is the decision to have the actors act/sing live, which results in the musicality of the production frequently getting drowned out by choking sobs or breaths or attempts to act. Hathaway and Jackman do this best, but it's dicey. The other choice is to take Les Mis, one of the biggest and most bombastic musicals I can think of, and shoot nearly the entire thing in extreme close-up. When the musical is allowed to be the musical, it really shines: the set design of the revolution scenes in particular was quite good. But there's no scenario where I'd prefer to watch this over any of the concert versions that exist out in the world. And I swear to God, Russell Crowe turns in one of my all-time worst performances.
Anne Hathaway emoted the hell out of “I Dreamed a Dream.” Samantha Barks was a passable Eponine. Hugh Jackman wasn’t terrible, I suppose. But the extreme closeups and extreme overuse of CGI were both distracting, and Russell Crowe was an absolute abomination. Hate that guy. I’ll stick with Colm Wilkinson and Lea Salonga on my 10th Anniversary DVD, thank you very much.
Powerful and majestic, the stage production of Les Miserables is brought to the big screen. Based on the classic Victor Hugo novel, a criminal named Jean Valjean breaks parole in order to build a new life, but is relentlessly pursued by an inspector named Javert. Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, and Amanda Seyfried lead the cast and give excellent performances. And the set designs and costumes are brilliantly done; capturing all of the grandeur and vibrance of the stage production. Les Miserables is an impassioned and extravagant musical that’s touching and inspired.
I definitely expected more, so much more. I love the book. The story is amazing. This movie had such a wonderful cast that I believed it would be THE movie. But it wasn't.
I don't like musicals but I did love this one. What star power and great acting. Fantastic music and true story.
Well-deserved laurels for music and scenography.
Oh, I loved that movie so much. It’s so good. Great actors, great story.
image 4.75 / 5 and sound 4.75 / 5 . It's very well made and set, the actors do it well, but it's not my kind of movie
This is the only movie that I've ever seen that when it was over I wanted to stand up in the theater to clap and cheer. It is absolutely awesome.
Beautifully formated for the silver screen.
So beautifully and stunningly produced! Each actor's performance blew me away! EMOTIONS!!!
It's completely boring all the lines singed with same melodies of songs, and I think that's the main reason, also the young love is too fast and there is no really a moment where they meet, it looks like one Disney movies before Frozen, where princess marry the first dude they see.The bar scene was awesome.
Eponine, Enjolras, Gavroche, Jean Valjean and Javert, I'll miss you guys. :(
Didn't like the songs adaptations though all of the rest is pretty good.
Pretty damn good! Though I was a bit disappointed by some of the singing despite me knowing it was live...
I like '98 version better
If you've seen the play, you won't see that much new here. That's not to say it's bad. Well, mostly. The music is compelling, and it's got a great story. The performances are mostly very good. Hugh Jackman is pretty good as Jean Valjean and brings a lot of enthusiasm to the role, which mostly works but occasionally doesn't. The big sticking point is Russell Crowe, who is a total dud as Javert and sounds like he's got a cold through his songs. I like Russell Crowe in a lot of his other work, but he was seriously miscast in this role. Not to mention that little cartoon "thud" at the end. It was interesting seeing what they could do with the play on film without the technical limitations of the theater. Recommended, but not without reservations. Good, but far from perfect.
My girlfriend made me watch this after she's seen it five times now. But it was actually really good. Great performance overall and such an atmosphere. You wouldn't be able to do that in a theater.
I'm biased to enjoy this as I've seen the opera. What I didn't expect is that I would enjoy the movie more. A masterpiece!!
Still stunned for this amazing movie that gave me chills in every single performance that the actors did beautifully!!! Best version of this movie EVER!!! Love it! Love it! And LOVE IT!!!
Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, and Samantha Barks were absolutely fantastic. Worth watching for just their scenes... Russell Crowe and Amanda Seyfried hurt my face though.
Yeah, the singing isn't perfect (are you listening, Russell Crowe!?), but the acting is superb and it gave me thrills!
Decent enough movie, but literally all of it is singing, so if you are like me and have a hard time understanding poetry and music at the same time, it is sometimes hard to follow.
I'm sure its fantastic for people who like musicals, but this movie isn't for me.
Fails Miserably.
I usually like musicals, but this one... i watched 30mn of it but i couldn't go further.. the "singing" (if you can call this singing..) is just awful.. (the women, like the ones in the sewing factory are especially hard to listen to..)
When Javert and Valjean are in the factory and SHOUT (no that's really not singing..) at 2 meters from each other while they are supposed to talk casually... it just look silly..
Actually Jackman is quite good, if he wasn't talking in english, he could really pass as a frenchman (the beard helps a lot ^^ ) but the scene at the church gave me mixed feelings between his good performance and the preachy preachy text..
Russel crowe as Javert.. not so much.. he looked like a barking dog everytime he tried singing.. that was good at the begining because that's what you would expect him to do when talking to a prisoner. It was really off in the factory's office, barking at the "mayor"..
Overall they really didn't HAVE to TRY singing EVERYTHING, there could have been talks, followed by songs in the most important parts. Memorable songs! Like West side story or Grease. They didn't sing ALL THE TIME.
Singing everything feels forced and off and they just end up trying to make everything rhymes, they tried too hard and it just gave a lousy text.. also there was no rhythm.. at all.. not only in the songs, but the pace of the movie also.
I tried to watch because there are good actors in there, i really like Anne Hathaway.. but it wasn't enough..
WOW! What a movie... I risk to say, even in January, one of 2013 best movies!
Anne Hathaway wins.
Review by ketuVIP OG 10BlockedParent2014-01-22T11:52:43Z
I loved it!
I am not the musical guy. I do not like the music, it feels so soft - so mainstream - so "happy everywhere" or "sadness overload".
And I think that musicals should be watched live in a theatre and not in a movie, because the story, songs etc. are written to be watched live. Just like movies should not be performed in theatre.
But I have to admit: Les Misérables was great! The actresses and actors were amazing, the music wonderful. But you have to watch the movie with good headphones - or if u lucky with a good sound system. :o)
The acting of Anne Hathaway was amazing. Big love! Just watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzNVmZfNoa8
The interpretation and renewed songs are perfect. Just Russel Crowe potential of singing was not the best, but it did not bother me at all. One of my favourite scenes / sing parts by the way is this clip. Sorry for the subs there:
http://youtu.be/q29OOI6Y6ig?t=1m38s
So even if you are not into musicals, give recommend to give it a try and you might get surprised and you gonna like it.
9 out of 10 points for this "movie". But if you didn't like the two youtube links I put here - you better won't watch the movie.