So much average

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The basic story is simple; On the day one man is married his new wife is murdered by a gangster because she wouldn't give into his "lust". The husband has to leave the town or be murdered. Ten years later, the husband returns to extract vengeance.This film is based on Cyril Tourneur's play. The Revenger's Tragedy. The film makers brought the time period (1600)to the present(2002). The dialogue remains in the 17th century and all or most of the actors were from the North of England. That's not altogether a bad thing. The viewer really doesn't need the dialogue to understand the story because of the strong acting abilities of the actors involved. The one performance that made my skin crawl was Derek Jacobi as the Duke. Three actors stood out as carrying the film on their shoulders; Jacobi Christopher Eccleston, and Eddie Izzard, but it was Jacobi that stood out the most.I do recommend this movie. You might have to watch it a couple of times, but when you are finished, I think you will agree with me that it is a very good movie.

This is an excellent adaptation of the play, which penguin classics claims Tourneur wrote, not Middleton, by the way.Christopher Eccleston is superb in acting Vindice as a fanatically hilarious psychopath, and the modern twists to give it present day significance also work well.However the language is quite difficult to understand, indeed I would say reading the play is important to gain some perspective into what is actually occurring, and to keep in mind as you watch it, especially th subtle changes, and a more satisfying ending than that given in the play. However it is quite advisable to never question the plausibility of the events in the play actually occurring, in essence it would make little sense, however I recommend you suspend your disbelief and be carried along on this imaginary journey into the surreal and meaningful.

Clever screen modernizations of classic drama make sense to me. I loved Ethan Hawke in HAMLET, Emma Thompson in MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, Kevin Klein in A MIDSUMMER'S NIGHT DREAM, etc. This is a masterful adaptation/reformulation of THE REVENGER'S TRAGEDY. It's intelligent, fast-paced, witty, shocking, engaging, and faithful to the spirit of the original.I intend to use it in conjunction with teaching the original to Advanced Placement English students in a public high school.As a certain 20th-century poet said, "Don't criticize what you can't understand." This is a nearly flawless production for anyone who loves the history of theater or who loves great cinema.

i really wanted this to be good as i am from Liverpool where it is set but it truly awful. the acting from everyone involved is cringeworthy the script is terrible absolutly terrible. terrible