The Great Gatsby Review

There are a few things I've learned from the film industry over the past few years, most notably if they want to make some quick cash they just make a movie off a classic book...for the fifth time. The Great Gatsby is directed by Baz Luhrmann (most known for his best picture nominated Moulin Rouge!) and stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby himself. The Great Gatsby is based off the novel of the same name written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The story is told through a third person view by a character named Nick. Nick recently moved out to New York to be a bond salesman, so he rented a little shack in a rich neighborhood and got his future underway. He has a cousin named Daisy who lives not too far from him with her rich cheating husband Tom. When visiting them Nick learns of an eccentric millionaire who lives right next door to him by the name of Jay Gatsby. Gatsby is known for his elaborate parties as well as being extremely mysterious. One day Nick is invited to one of Gatsby's parties, making him the only person to actually be invited. Once there he meets Gatsby, a charismatic young man. Quickly the two become friends, but you can't help but feel that Gatsby is playing an angle. Nick came to New York to make a success out of himself, but instead he gets caught up in a plan years in the making. When I first saw the trailer for this movie I thought it looked great, but the more I thought about it the more I worried. Baz Luhrmann has a unique directing style: it's fast paced, it's flashy, and it's in your face. While it worked for movies like Moulin Rouge!, I was afraid it wouldn't work for this... unfortunately I was right. The Great Gatsby is a story about the characters, about this love that can never be. But Baz made this all about style and ignored the substance. You're supposed to feel something for these characters but you really don't. You root for Gatsby but not because you want to but because you feel like you're supposed to. While this over embellished world worked for the party scenes it subtracted from everything else, also there was way too much green screen. When 70 percent of your movie looks like it was filmed on a green screen and you're not Avatar, you have a problem. Of all the scenes in the movie the ones that looked the best were shot in real rooms with no CGI. One thing that bothered me (this is more of a personal preference) was the amount of modern music used. The soundtrack is great but if you're in a 20's setting and you have like five Jay-Z songs it sounds out of place. On top of that the whole movie was obnoxiously loud. I know it sounds like I hated the movie but I really didn't it's not a bad movie. Leo does a great job playing Gatsby, the movie is true to the book, and Baz's style did work for some of the scenes. While The Great Gatsby didn't live up to my hopes there will be people out there that will really like this movie, but personally I was let down and won't remember this in a couple days (especially since Star Trek: Into Darkness is coming out soon). 

3/5 Stars