Eric Stevenson It's interesting to look at all the adaptions of Shakespeare's classic plays. This is regarded as one of the lesser versions and it's easy to see why. This film comes across as awkward because it has this weird way of changing its tone. About halfway through, it started to show everything in light whereas most of the film was literally covered in darkness. It doesn't seem appropriate for a Shakespeare adaptation. I admit to not being that familiar with "Macbeth" at least not as much as "Romeo And Juliet". I thought the leading actor was the same guy who played Daryl from "The Walking Dead"! Then again, it's probably just because I recently saw and reviewed that too.Now, it is interesting to see the story being retold in a modern setting. At the same time, it's still hard to capture the spirit. I especially don't like the very end where it just becomes a clichéd gun fight. It was pretty hard to follow at times and for the most part, it didn't really give anything new to the story. There have been a lot better and some worse adaptations here. I guess the colors just come off as gaudy and annoying. **

museumofdave No matter what well-meaning directors decide to do to Mr. Shakespeare, he will survive--and every time some folks decide to re-interpret the play, he is, in some way, enriched--sometimes sometimes just through another exposure, but often as in this mod "Gangster Version," something like the frequently asked question "Did the Macbeths have any children?" will pop up and get discussed.An early scene in this Aussie Macbeth has Lady Macbeth grieving over a dead child's tombstone, giving her a lot of motivation for ensuing diabolical actions; Although there is excessive violence in the film, Mr. Shakespeare can take credit for a good deal of it--consider the dozens of times the word "blood" appears in the play--it's justified.Unless the viewer is familiar with the play, this film may not make a lot of sense, as the original Shakespearian language is used--but cut, considerably. Would that the actor playing Banquo or Macduff had been cast as Macbeth, as Sam Worthington, while adequate, lacks the intense charisma such a tortured soul needs, and looks a little more like an unhappy rock star. Nevertheless, save for some naughty nude semi-orgies, this would be a good film to show to a high school class, comparing it, for instance, to the bare-bones Orson Welles version, which was filmed on unused Republic Film Studio western sets--sprayed with water! The Welles version, sometimes hard to listen to as his actors often use a heavy Scots brogue, shows considerably more strength, has an exciting visual sense and cleaves to the theme in lieu of modern attitude.

Ruth_91 It's true that this isn't a fantastic film, but I found it enjoyable, especially considering all the negative reviews surrounding this film. It's a little odd (maybe even jarring) when you hear the first lines of Shakespearian dialogue spoken in an Australian accent (and I'm saying this as an Australian!), but after a while I stopped noticing it. A few sequences where a a little drawn out, and I felt Sam Worthington struggled with his lines a little, but the emotion was there. There were some fantastic supporting performances from the likes of Lachy Hulme (Macduff), Matt Doran (Malcom) and even Victoria Hill (Lady Macbeth) had her moments. I've said some sequences drag a little, but for the most part they were action packed and fun. Beautifully shot - it's a rich, yet dark and grungy atmosphere. My main problem with this film is the witches - I understand what director Geoffrey Wright was trying to do with them, but I was not a fan of them. Having said that though, I didn't like the witches in Roman Polanski's Macbeth or the BBC's 'Shakespeare Re-told' version either. I'd give this a 6.5 if the thing would let me, but it rounds up to a seven. If you're a fan of traditional Shakespeare, I can well imagine that you'd be mortified by this film, but I think this is a clever re-imagining.

Indyrod My favorite Macbeth movie adaptation is by far Roman Polanski, which is also one of my favorite movies. This Australian production, directed by Geoffrey Wright, brings the Macbeth story to modern times in the Melbourne underworld. Sam Worthington gives a great performance as Macbeth who along with his crazy Wife Lady Macbeth, plan out to kill the crime boss King Duncan (of course), allowing Macbeth to take over the power. This movie may seem silly at first, I wasn't sure how I was going to like it, but as the movie progresses and the actors recite the Shakespeare dialogue, I found myself drawn into the Macbeth story which I truly love. Along with a very good soundtrack and performances by all, I like this modern Macbeth very much. Shakespeare's Macbeth is a very violent story to begin with, and this version carries that off with plenty of blood and violence. This of course is not for everyone, but being a fan of Macbeth, I enjoyed it.