So we went to see Pride + Prejudice + Zombies. And it was...okay.
Don't get me wrong! The zombies were great. It lacked in other areas.
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SPOILERS
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PROS
1) Lily James hit all the right marks at Elizabeth Bennet. She would be wonderful in a standard adaptation of P&P, but she really kicks ass as a zombie killer with hidden sheaths in her formal dresses.
2) The first scene wasn't in the book, but it set the perfect tone of the whole movie.
3) The most chemistry between Elizabeth and Darcy in the flick was their knife battle at the Collins' cottage. It put the verbal sparring of the original fight to shame.
CONS
1) The editing sucked. I mean, REALLY sucked. the transitions were sharp and sloppy. I don't know if the film editor got carried away with his exacto knife or his laptop. Maybe the cinematographer or the director didn't give him enough footage to work with. Either way, Mr. McKinley's heavy hand didn't help the film.
2) I loved Sam Riley in Maleficent. But somehow, he wasn't quite right as Mr. Darcy. (And no, I'm not judging him against Colin Firth.) His characterization crosses the line from arrogance to raw dickishness. I don't know how much was his interpretation or the director's. There were a couple of spots he shined (see Pros 2 and 3 above), but it wasn't enough to carry the whole movie.
3) I was INCREDIBLY disappointed that the book's epic battle between Lady Catherine and Elizabeth was substituted with Lady C's henchman, who Elizabeth kills. It was stupid and made no sense in terms of the changes the script made to the story. Why waste a good fighter in the middle of the zombie apocalypse on a senseless death?
This is a decent enough movie to add to my zombie flick collection, but it's not the top of the list. I'd give Pride + Prejudice + Zombies 6 out of 10 stars.
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