One of my all time favorites.

Fantastic!

As Good As It Gets

A Masterpiece!

As a movie in and of itself this is not too bad, in fact I might even have really liked it if I hadn't read the book. However, as an adaptation, this was a disaster. Like many other reviewers I get the feeling that they didn't even read the book! So many things are just way off, it's awful...They took way too many "creative liberties" and it certainly didn't add anything of value, it just made it look like a poor attempt of being unique (if you want to make an adaptation, you should follow the original, otherwise you should make your own story).Henry suddenly had a daughter (???) who would serve as the romantic interest and I get the impression that she was meant to "save" Dorian from his lifestyle or something. The painting was practically alive, it could move and make noise and seemed to be physically decaying - the first sign of corruption, if memory serves, was a maggot or something eating its way through the canvas. Why? Hell, I don't know. Basil's death was unnecessarily violent and he was chopped up into pieces and dumped in a river, presumably so that he could be found later in the movie and cause drama. These are just some examples of the weird things that were changed, because screw the original, right?Most of the characters were really off, and some plot points were changed for no apparent reason, it served no purpose whatsoever and they should have been kept the way they were. They also did a lousy job at subtlety, either they didn't know how to do it or they thought the audience would be too stupid to pick up on it.Again, as a movie on its own it's kind of alright, but it's quite frankly a disgrace when compared to the original. I had really high hopes for it too, I think they really could have done a much better job if only they had bothered reading the book.

Oliver Parker transformed the great novel by Oscar Wild into a ghost ride speeding like a rocket. Sometimes the movie has the looks it needs to represent Oscar Wilde's time, sometimes it looks like a cheap horror flick filled with clichés about London. Of course it has a handsome Ben Barnes as Dorian Gray too, but it misses the witty dialogues, the behavior of the upper class members and so on. Sir Henry Wotton becomes a cynic wisecracking jerk who doesn't really believe in what he's saying and we, the audience, don't believe him either, in contrast to the character in the novel. The only person I really liked in the movie was the character of Basil Hallward played by Ben Chaplin, but to soon he leaves the stage.Dorian Gray (which is already a shortening of the title: "The picture of Dorian Gray) is a version for the non intellectual working class movie goers who don't have the time to read the novel nor have any interest in doing so. It is not bad to watch bad movies but there is a saddening effect. After they have watched this movie they don't pay attention to the novel anymore, because they think it's all been said. So they miss a great chance to read a great piece of literature and culture that has something to say especially in our times where we have contests for models like Next Top Model on TV and a youth fetish in the media and society. Everybody wants to stay young and fresh and powerful and beautiful.So I suggest better read the novel than watching this movie!

Dorian Gray (Ben Barnes) is a young naive man arriving in Victorian London to live in his newly inherited mansion. Artist Basil Hallward (Ben Chaplin) befriends the newcomer. The cold-hearted Lord Henry Wotton (Colin Firth) leads him astray especially from his love of sweet young actress Sibyl Vane (Rachel Hurd-Wood). Basil paints him a portrait and he proclaims a deal for his soul.This is a cold stiff unimaginative movie. Ben Barnes is barely a pretty picture but he is certainly not much more. His character is not interesting enough to be compelling. The movie has no excitement and barely any tension. It limps along with as little drama as possible. Colin Firth plays with so much anger in his eyes that I find none of it appealing. If he was charming, then I could see the appeal. Everything in this movie moves at a tired pace. It is moderately watchable... barely. There are problems inherit in the story. Sibyl Vane comes and goes so quickly that their love feels superficial. The relationship doesn't have any time to develop. Rebecca Hall has slightly better chemistry as Emily Wotton. Her character is slightly more complex and most importantly has more time. Overall, the movie just isn't very interesting.

Some critics seem to bash on this flick comparing to the novel. I personally thought it was a pretty decent movie and had enough substance to carry the movie with some good dark atmosphere going for it. The moral of the novel basically came down to the difference between pleasures and happiness. And it did a pretty good job of visually showing that in this movie. Ben Barnes or Prince Caspian who I think Hollywood is trying to sale as the next Johnny Depp is alright as Dorian Gray. He needs more better acting chops but he fit the look and change in character well. Colin Firth in this plays Henry Wotton, who claims the only thing in life worth having is youth and beauty. And is basically the tempter who drives Dorian Gray into madness. The novel also had to do with the inner nature of men and how a lot of people tend to wear masks because they are too afraid to show who we really are. In this case the ugliness of Dorian Gray begins to show in a painting drawn of him. Even if he stays forever young and handsome in his outward appearance he is rotting in the inside. Which I thought was pretty unique when it came to the novel, since in today's society. The outward appearance means more in the human eyes than what is underneath. Again if you constantly compare this flick to the book you will probably be disappointed. But if you look at this flick as just a adaptation that focuses a lot on the visuals but also has some substance to back it up. You just might enjoy it. But it's not a faithful adaptation from the novel.7.3/10