Excellent but underrated film

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The positives, Madonna at her best and the story line was fine. The two well known songs were worth listening too then everything goes down hill from there. We thought the direction and production was poor at best and the rest of the score in this musical was dreadful almost painful, really disappointed. Will we be watching it again?, not a chance, the DVD is destined for the bin.

Evita is a musical from 1996 directed by Alan Parker and based on two things: the life of Argentine First Lady Eva Péron, and the 1978 Broadway musical Evita by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Both the movie and the musical tell the same story: the life of Eva Péron from being a businessman's illegitimate child to being the wife of Juan Péron, the president of Argentina and becoming the most beloved and the most hated woman in the country.Now hearing that story, it might sound like an original screenplay from Hollywood, but I think that the very fact that it's based on a true story is part of the appeal, proving that truly anyone can rise to power, just look at Donald Trump :(The first question of quality for the movie, being a musical is, are the songs any good? And the answer is yes. They are very good. One of the things that strike me about the songs is that whenever the film needs to show a very long span of time, you can show it with a song and a montage, for example Eva's multiple lovers and the political history of Argentina in the 40s. This would be much harder to make compelling and interesting and related to the plot in an ordinary biopic. But Rice or Webber or Parker of whoever realized that they could use the songs to their advantage. So, congratulations!Another important thing about musicals is, can the main actors sing, and the answer is again yes. No matter what you think of Madonna, you have to admit that the can sing. And I want to really show my respect for Madonna, because this wasn't a case of the producers going "We need a star! Get Madonna, because people know her and will help at the box office". It was actually Madonna who was really pushing to get the role, she took vocal lessons, she did research on Evita and Argentina, and I think that demands respect. The rest of her filmography may not be that impressive, but she did very well in her role, and that's all I ask.So we knew that Madonna could sing, but what was really surprising to me was Antonio Banderas as the narrator Che (yes, in the play it was supposed to be Che Guevara, but they changed it for the film). Man, can he sing, and sing well. One thing that I also really liked about Banderas portrayal of Che is that he can be really funny and entertaining as Che. I honestly think that his performance was Oscar worthy.Parker's direction and production was also really impressive, especially because it was a musical made on such a grand scale. You can tell that they spent a lot of money on the production, especially with regards to the extras. This I think is some of the best work from movie extras, it appears as if they actually care about what they're doing and how it's going to look on the big screen.If I could criticize anything, I think it would be with some of the lyrics in the songs that I find questionable. For example, at one point in the song "Peron's Latest Flame" about peoples misgivings of Juan's relationship with Eva, the soldiers sing about officers and sing "as long as they're discreet and keep clear of disease", like what do they mean? Are they talking about syphilis?So besides some lyrics that I was not fond of, the film is overall an entertaining musical with good performances, an impressive big scale and good songs.My final score, 7/10.

Evita (1996): Dir: Alan Parker / Cast: Madonna, Antonio Banderas, Jonathan Pryce, Jimmy Nail, Olga Merediz: Almost every aspect of this film is musical with dialogue expressed beautifully by lyrics. Madonna stars as Evita, the wife of a political leader and how she pulls her way to the top. Expertly crafted and executed brilliantly by director Alan Parker who has made great musicals before with Fame and Pink Floyd: The Wall. Madonna's voice compliments the material as she pours emotion through song. She is an aid to her political significant other but all attention falls on her even up to her death through illness. This is easily the best performance from a musician whose critics have not been kind to her in the past. Antonio Banderas is also effective as the narrator who expresses his views through lyrics and makes a great musical counter to Madonna's veteran skills. He will be there until the end just as he is in translating it all to us. Jonathan Pryce is well cast as a political figure overshadowed by her presence but ultimately benefiting greatly. Jimmy Nail as a tango dancer she has an affair with could have been less predictable but at any rate it further skirts Evita under the radar. Spectacular art direction and massive production highlight a message of manipulation. Madonna is not accustom to great films but here she is at her best in a role she was born to play and she sparkles. Score: 9 ½ / 10

I've seen a lot of reviews complain due to the lack of actual dialogue in this film. I want to start there... If you don't want to hear singing don't watch a musical! As musicals go this is one of the best and it's in my personal top 3. Where do I start with a film this good. Let's start with the lead actors. I'm not usually a fan of Madonna but she is brilliant. Let's remember that this role demands a change of acting style as the evita gets older. This is pulled off by Madonna in epic style. Her singing can be a little screechy in places, but she is a pop singer not a west end star and she has a good enough voice. But the star of the show, by a country mile, is banderas. When I heard he was was in this I was expecting a spoken style like Rex Harrison. What I didn't realise just what a voice banderas has. Every song is done perfectly. And , even more amazingly, whether he is singing a soft ballad, or belting out a rock note, his acting performance as che is consistent and is THE best acting performance I have ever seen in a musical. BAR NONE.If you like musicals you must see this film. That is a no brainier