An average movie

To be honest, this movie was not a priority but since there was not much else to watch, I thought I should give it a try. Eventually, I thought it was not bad but still nothing really amazing in my opinion. Basically, it is one of those visual extravaganzas which have been Baz Luhrmann's specialty for quite a while now. Honestly, even though it was an interesting approach, it was also rather distracting, especially the first 30-45 minutes which were basically Gatsby on acids. Later on, the whole thing settled down a little and I was more able appreciate the visual wizardry involved. For Leonardo DiCaprio, it was yet another portrayal of a neurotic individual which can be added to his ever growing list (J. Edgar Hoover, Howard Hughes, Teddy Daniels or even Cobb, Calvin Candie or Billy Costigan). Frankly, even though he did a decent job, he didn't really nail it this time and I preferred Robert Redford's version. On the other hand, Jay Gatsby is such a mythical larger-than-life character, one of the most fascinating fictional figures ever created and if he works amazingly on the paper, I'm not sure he can be put on the silver screen because since you actually see him in flesh and blood, a lot of the mystery surrounding him is gone. Another thing that disappointed me was the relationship between Gatsby and Carraway. I mean, they picked up two actors who happened to be BFF since childhood so I expected some awesome brotherly chemistry but it was just not there. Finally, if Jay Gatsby is one of my favorite literary characters, Daisy Buchanan must be one of the shallowest I have ever seen, even in the book I thought she was tedious to death and I never understood why Gatsby went through all this hustle for this broad. Well, in this movie, she was again pretty annoying. Still, the whole thing remains a nice watch, the modern music didn't bother me, and there was some very nice use of 3D (for once). To conclude, even though it is far from being a masterpiece, it is still worth a look, especially if you enjoyed Baz Luhrmann's previous work.

6/10