From my favorite movies..

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Les Miserables for me is one of the greatest musicals, it has a story that really hits you in the guts emotionally(in a good way) and it is also one of those musicals where I don't dislike a single song. Valjean and Javert are also hugely compelling characters. The cast(and also that this is Les Miserables we are talking about) were reason enough to see this, and I also wanted to see how it would compare to the brilliant 10th-year anniversary performance. I was also hoping that even in concert form that it would bring out the emotion of the music and story. It certainly does not disappoint and it certainly has the emotion, I do give the edge to the 10th, but the previous reviewers have summed up perfectly what is so good about this performance.But I do have to agree that it is not quite perfect, though the cons are far outweighed by the pros. Apart from a relatively good Empty Chairs and Empty Tables, Nick Jonas is miscast and very out of his depth as Marius, his voice is rather thin and gets very nasal when forced, and I found him rather dull on a dramatic front. Compared to Michael Ball, he's not even in the same league in my opinion. Katie Hall is a little better though. She is charming and likable enough as Cosette, but not much more than that, and she is not helped by the fact that Cosette is not a very interesting character at all really. Her voice is a little uneven, the middle register is silvery and lyrical but the top register has a tendency to become shrill.Everything else ranges from very, very good to spot-on. The costumes are evocative, and the lighting especially in Empty Chairs and Empty Tables(very haunting) gives each scene atmosphere. It is staged very effectively too and it is very sympathetic to the story and the lyrics with all the emotional power and thrust needed. I found it very easy to be moved by Empty Chairs, and it was also a clever and tasteful piece of staging. One Day More is also spine-tingling. The orchestral playing made the music a feast for the ears, the textures and instrumental balances are done perfectly doing very well to accommodate the singers. The chorus are involved in the drama, sing beautifully and enunciate clearly, especially good in Do You Hear the People Sing and One Day More.Alfie Boe's Valjean was just wonderful. He may not quite erase memories of Colm Wilkinson, who probably had a little more emotion, but Boe is certainly not devoid of that. He has a ringing tenor voice that shows no sign of being taxed by this demanding role, he commands the stage with authority as he ought and he brings out all the complexities and nuances Valjean's character has. Bring Him Home really sounds like a prayer(the right approach as that's what the song is essentially), and staged in a way that will leave Les Mis fans absolutely delighted. Norm Lewis' Javert also stands out. He is authoritative, but also conflicted and subtle. His Suicide scene really gave me the chills. He also possesses a lovely baritone sound, not quite as rich or powerful as that of Phillip Quast, but never is it one that's dry and lightweight. Like Quast, he has the harshness of Javert but also a sympathetic side.Lea Salonga is truly moving as Fantine with a voice of an angel, and I do agree that she is more suited to Fantine than she is to Eponine. I Dreamed a Dream really brings the house down on an emotional scale. Samantha Barks is also perfectly cast, her Eponine is feisty but also heart-breaking. Her rendition of On My Own is pitch-perfect and very deeply felt. Ramin Karmimloo's Enjolras is excellent. Matt Lucas is surprisingly good as Thernadier, he hasn't got the best voice but has a very exuberant stage presence while managing to make the character as hateful as possible(even if he just lacks Alun Armstrong's sociopathic edge). Jenny Galloway's Madame Thernadier is perfect, just like in the 10th anniversary performance.To conclude, a really well done performance of Les Mis, with almost everything perfectly first-rate. 9/10 Bethany Cox

For a person who grew up with musicals, went to see local productions, big Sydney and Melbourne touring productions and spent a lot of my childhood watching musical films with my father, it's a little surprising that I'd never got around to seeing Les Miserables until it was turned into a feature film. I was quite impressed with the film, but assured by people the songs could have been performed a lot better, so I saw this on sale and decided to check it out. Suffice to say I was thoroughly entertained and very impressed.But the start is a bit shaky, the first two performers to sing solo during the "Look Down" opening had me wondering what I'd got myself into, but once Alfie Boe (Valjean) and the enjoyably hammy Norm Lewis (Javert) get on stage I knew I was in good hands. Boe's singing is magnificent, with Valjean's soliloquy and Bring Him Home two of the highlights of the show. Lewis is having the time of his life, shouting his name with gusto and giving a great rendition of Stars and a passionate soliloquy of his own. Their moments together are brilliant, but I especially love their confrontation as Fantine dies.Speaking of Fantine, played by Miss Saigon herself, Lea Salonga, her "I Dreamed a Dream" is the absolute high point of this show. She makes you feel everything that her character is feeling during the song while belting out the tune beautifully and receives a well deserved standing ovation at song's end.Matt Lucas makes a truly disgusting Thenadier (which I mean in a good way), his relative lack of singing ability is well and truly compensated by a great character performance and of course having stage veteran Jenny Galloway with him in most scenes.Nick Jonas as Marius does not appear to have a strong enough voice to be part of an ensemble, though he was not awful singing Empty Chairs and Empty Tables on his own (this was aided by the very effective lighting behind him to make his dead friends look like ghosts as they stood behind him). Katie Hall is a little hamstrung as Cossette because she spends a lot of her time having to try and sing more softly than Jonas, but she appears to have a nice clean voice.Ramin Karimloo, who I've always thought had a great voice but never really rated as a good Phantom of the Opera, is excellent as Enjolras. He sings with power and passion, and despite not being a big man, has a presence about him that is appropriate to the role and his rather large, unrestrained voice.Samantha Barks is good as Eponine and it's impressive she was able to play the role equally well in the film version. There's a lot of power in her voice.Overall I really loved this show and it helped give me a greater appreciation for the musical part of Les Miserables, but I think seeing the film first really helped as I knew what was happening in the story and so could just sit back and enjoy the singing, Nick Jonas aside.

I have been a musical theater fan ever since I had been a little kid. I was simply an outcast because of that in my school. Everyone was listening to "pop" music with "rap" and all that. I was more into musical theater.Everyone gasped as my teacher told us that we were watching Les Miserables 25th anniversary for our Literature and Music class, I was not surprised at all, though. I had subsequently asked my teacher to host a film viewing because Victor Hugo was indeed a wonderful writer, and Claude-Michel Schonberg is a brilliant composer.I have watched the 10th anniversary of Les Miserables featuring Colm Wilkinson as Valjean, Philip Quast as Javert, Ruthie Henshall as Fantine, and so on. I have also watched different adaptations of this musical. I have witnessed High School students put on this production, I have seen this production in different theater companies and yet, none have seemed to get me to applaud for them.This cast seemed promising with powerful voices all around such as Alfie Boe, Ramin Karimloo and Lea Salonga. On the other hand, a few members from cast seemed a little out of place such as Nick Jonas, it was a big surprise for me to see a pop singer on stage. I have watched the Jonas Brothers and their voices seemed airy even with all three of their voices combined! What more with one lone Jonas Brother? It was simply dreadful, his voice was so weak, that I noticed he had to lean towards the mic for him to actually be heard. But, then again, Monsieur Jonas did do his best, but it was quite an embarrassment for himself as he was not ready due to his tender age, and lack of power.His leading lady, Katie Hall (Cosette), did not seem appropriate for the role, in my opinion. Her voice was too shrill. Yes, yes, she had the looks, but what I always notice is the voice. Her high notes seemed forced and squeezed. She didn't have weak voice such as of Jonas, here, she had power, but her voice's resonance was terrible.Samantha Barks was good, she had a powerful voice, she hit the notes flawlessly in her rendition of the beautiful tear-jerking song "On My Own". It contained such great emotion that I had to run over to my bag to grab a tissue to wipe a few stray tears. Alfie Boe, goodness, can there ever be a better Valjean? He contained everything that I was looking for in Valjean, he had some sort of aura in him that made me pity his persona while he sang. Ramin Karimloo was perfect for the role, as he presented a fearless Enjolras, he had a slight crack on his last line : "Until the earth is free!" but it definitely helped in shaping his character, he showed a hint of pain in that line, as we all know,the student revolutionaries are indeed going to die. Madame and Monsieur Thenardier were hilarious, that's what you call effective acting.During the 10th anniversary, I saw Lea Salonga as Eponine, she was good, yes, but she did better when she played Fantine. Her low notes are round, while her high notes in her famous aria, "I dreamed a dream", were angelic.It was my first time seeing Norm Lewis on stage, he was by-far, the best Javert I had ever seen. He simply fit the role by a loophole, a wonderful baritone, he was. Grantaire was OK. He did well, but he wasn't that memorable.The lighting was very good, the costumes were very effective, impeccable timing, beautiful acting, but then again, it was lacking.Compared to the 10th anniversary and the crappy High School Productions I watched, this performance gave new justice to the musical with new state-of-the-art technology and lighting, new costumes, a new cast and a majestic ensemble.It was worth watching, yes, I am now looking forward to watching Les Miserables 2012, at least I have a basis already that I can use in submitting a review for that rendition.

Fantastic performances by all! It goes without saying that Boe is outstanding. His melodic tones stand strong throughout the entire production.As a long time Les Mis fan, I was a little wary to watch Nick Jonas perform the role of Marius. I know little about Jonas as a musician, but I was blown away by his powerful performance! His rendition of "Empty Chairs At Empty Tables" brought tears to my eyes! This kid should stick to Broadway instead of pop music.The rest of the cast was expectedly great and I even loved the lyrical changes! And the best part - the original cast appears at the end! This concert completely astounded and amazed me.