Despite a hip Miami backdrop, and the quarrel between the Montagues and Capulets being played out like a gang feud, the director retained the play’s original text. It works beautifully...

| Nov 7, 2023

You really get the whole Baz experience here.

| Jul 17, 2022

Luhrmann's style simply defibrillates Shakespeare's text. ... For me, it's the overblown carnality that makes it such a perfect adaptation of the source material, and that still leaps from the screen today.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Nov 9, 2021

This glitter bomb of a film explodes the play and builds it back up again... result[ing] in a truly unforgettable cinematic experience.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Nov 5, 2021

Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes are both callow and beautiful and wonderful.

| Aug 14, 2020

I enjoy Baz Luhrmann's creative take on Shakespeare.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Mar 7, 2019

Huge credit to Danes, especially later in the film, when Juliet actively rebels. Her "marvellous much" and "I long to die" speeches are forceful and imbued with deep feeling.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 4, 2018

Romeo + Juliet is a stunningly detailed, perfectly cast, fun-fuelled immersive experience. A true love letter to one of the best movies of the nineties, this event is an absolute must for fans. Get ready for the party of the summer.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Aug 23, 2018

Little more than a stunt.

| Aug 16, 2018

a fantastic introduction to Shakespeare for the novice and the young

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 7, 2014

Put simply: you're not likely to regard Romeo + Juliet as truly great cinema unless the song "Lovefool" stirs your soul.

| Original Score: 6/10 | May 12, 2013

Look back on your first love, without it making you wince.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 14, 2013

One of the liveliest Shakespeare adaps of the past 20 years ...

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 25, 2013

Luhrmann bombards us with startling images, audacious camera tricks and breathtaking action ... [in order to recreate] the overwhelming experience of adolescent love.

| Nov 22, 2010

Luhrmann would use the same techniques with better results in Moulin Rouge!

| Original Score: 6/10 | Nov 1, 2010

[Luhrmann's] film is a little more original, and a lot more sloppy, than that suggests; despite his brusque refashioning of the text and the film's slack denouement, he manages to come up with a few sharp ideas.

| Jul 6, 2010

A slick blast of ''decadence,'' the kind of violent swank-trash music video that may make you feel like reaching for the remote control.

| Original Score: C+ | Jul 6, 2010

A sexy, innovative and memorable sumptuous feast for eye and ear.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 3, 2008

It's a genuinely fresh take on an oft-told tale.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 3, 2008

Doesn't approach the emotional resonance of Franco Zeffirelli's immensely popular 1968 screen version.

Full Review | Jun 11, 2008