Much Ado About Nothing
Dir: Joss Whedon
2013
**
I know Much Ado About Nothing very well, it was my first Shakespeare and I got an A+ for writing a piece on why I disliked it so much at collage. Something I was quite proud of. It was never too good for a modern retelling in my opinion and I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered the mighty Joss Whedon was going to give it a go. Unfortunately it became evident fairly early on that he and many of the actors didn't really understand it. The cast is a mix of actors that will have Whedon fans doing back flips as pretty much everyone has worked for the director at some point or another in his popular TV work. That is half the problem, these are clearly TV actors. I'm sorry about how unfair that sounds but most of them are like robots who scan the script, repeat the script and stand where they are supposed to, nothing more and nothing less. Clark Gregg and Nathan Fillion are the two exception to be fair, both understand the story and how to deliver, although their talent only goes towards showing how bad everyone else is and ultimately make the film worse. It has a rushed (which I believe it was) feel to it too, a rushed made for TV feel that they try to make arty by filming in Black and White. I used to say that everything looks better in black and white but this film has proven me wrong. Honestly, it's pretty bad and does nothing for Shakespeare, Whedon or anyone involved in the film. It looks like Whedon can do wrong after all!