I wanted to start writing and critiquing older movies that I have never seen that maybe I should have seen already. So when I saw this movie available on Prime Video, I decided to watch it as I folded laundry and wiped down counters. I also, regrettably, ate lunch as I watched this gory tale.

I didn’t know that this movie was a musical! The genre I can’t stand the most is musicals. The songs just seem so conflicting and in “Sweeney Todd” it seems to clash even more just because the genre is so dark and the songs are a bit silly. But leave it to Tim Burton to do just that. With movies he directed like “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure”, “Beetlejuice” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, Mr.Burton is no stranger to combining the weird and the dark.

I hated the songs. And there were so many songs! All the time! There was no rest from them! I also didn’t care much for the gore either. I somewhat knew the story of Sweeney Todd, but the bloodshed was preposterous at times. It was about the 30 minute mark that I checked the rating on the movie because I just couldn’t believe this was a PG-13 movie, and lo and behold it wasn’t! This movie is rated R for graphic bloody violence!

But I didn’t hate all of it. The story line was one of total depravity. The lack for human dignity that Mr. Barker/Sweeney displayed and his vengeful and unforgiving spirit caused him to destroy the things he loved the most.  What a wretch of a man! He needs an even greater Savior, but like all tragedies, he finds none. He wallows in his self-pity. He destroys any good thing he receives and lives in the memory of a romanticized past. 

I do not recommend this movie, even if you like musicals. It was awful. The songs were horrid and I felt a little dirtier after watching this movie.

#movies #johnnydepp