The Tempest (2010, U.S)

I'll be honest, I had a very hard time focusing on this film. I think I'm just too stupid for Shakespeare, so I had difficulty understanding what was going on a lot of the time. I read The Tempest for my Shakespeare class in college, but my memory of the plot was vague at best. Perhaps I should have read the Cliffs Notes before watching this.

For the most part, however, I have nothing but good things to say about this film. Helen Mirren is incredible, and I absolutely adore Djimon Hounsou. (Side note: I can't believe this is the first new movie I've seen with him since I've started this blog. He is a show stealer—The Island, Blood Diamond, even Tomb Raider, and especially The Four Feathers. Love love love him.) He was a very engaging Caliban. The rest of the cast was also made up of very solid acting talent, although to be honest I could live without Miranda. The sets were also beautiful. Ariel and all his accompanying special effects were a bit weird, but I guess they're supposed to be.

So I don't know if I would recommend this to anybody or not. Shakespeare fans would probably be unhappy about the gender change of Prospero (although it is Helen Mirren, people), and non-Shakespeare addicts would probably be underwhelmed. So there you have it... a quality film that I just can't get too excited about. Very sad.

Rating: 2.5