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Undescribable Perfection

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

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

While the Japanese setting seems like more of a gimmick than anything, this 2006 adaptation of As You Like It is treated much too harshly in my opinion.Bryce Dallas is charming and funny as Rosalind, while David Oyelowo is sweet and hilarious as Orlando. The two have excellent chemistry. Romola Garai and Alfred Molina are great as as Celia and Touchstone, the two funniest characters in this version. And Brian Blessed, well, he's always excellent and here he gets the chance to wear samurai armor in the opening. About my only complaint cast-wise is Kevin Kline as Jacques; he does not leave the impact he should and disappears into the forest scenery.The settings and costumes are beautiful, as to be expected from a Branagh Shakespeare production. The comedy is well-done altogether, though once the film is over, it does not leave the impression it should. I don't know, it's missing something that the 1979 Helen Mirren version had. Maybe it's because this version cuts so much of the material out in an attempt to make it more accessible to a mainstream (and presumably young) audience. Worth watching though.

I've always loved Shakespeare, ever since reading Twelfth Night 10 years ago in my last year in primary school. And I have great respect for Kenneth Branagh. You can clearly tell by his acting and how he directs Shakespeare that he respects the bard's writing while making it accessible for a wider audience. His casting choices are often spot-on too, yes with the odd questionable choice but never serious enough to bring the film drown too much. All of his Shakespeare film adaptations are well worth watching at least once with his weakest being Love's Labours Lost and my personal favourite being Much Ado About Nothing. As You Like It is not as good as his Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet and Henry V(I need to check if his 80s Twelfth Night would count, if so that applies too), but definitely superior to Love's Labours Lost. It does have its flaws, the Japanese culture is not all that authentic and Rosalind's disguise is completely unconvincing- nowhere near masculine enough- that it does raise laughs at how Orlando could fail to see through it. However, it does look absolutely beautiful with stunning locations, sumptuous costumes and some of the most beautiful photography in any of Branagh's movies. The music is witty and lively as well as sweet and lilting. The writing is amusing and poetic, in short faithful in spirit to Shakespeare.The story is well-paced and still has that sense of fun, and the idea to have Branagh to only direct rather than do that and cast himself as well was a refreshing one. I personally have no idea with Branagh casting himself in his films actually, criticise him all you want about him being self-indulgent, I think it further reinforces how talented and versatile he is.(Besides he is not the only one to do it, Orson Welles and Laurence Olivier did it too and Alfred Hitchcock appeared in cameos in a lot of his films). The cast are great. Bryce Dallas Howard is beautiful and charming, and Romola Garai is adorable. Jade Jeffries and Janet McTeer are also well cast. David Oyelowo is a dashing Orlando, and doesn't make him too much of a pretty-boy and not much else. Richard Briers as always is a pleasure to watch, while Alfred Molina is delightfully silly and Kevin Kline, while not as well used as he was in 1999's A Midsummer Night's Dream, is also sterling, doing justice to the play's best soliloquies. I do absolutely agree with another reviewer with the lack of any praise for Brian Blessed. He does two roles that are completely different from his personality and anything else he's done, and gives Frederick some arch without ever resorting to camp(he's also quite nuanced in this role) and Duke Snr a surprising amount of poignant subtlety, bringing to life Shakespeare's writing in the way not many people today do in one role. Overall, Branagh has done better but I still think As You Like It was much better than I heard it was, which prior to watching was mostly negativity or indifference. 8/10 Bethany Cox

''As You Like It'' by William Shakespeare has been, for long, my favorite play. I like this play very much. So I was very excited when I began to see this movie. And when the movie ended, I was amazed, because the film is so beautiful and nicely made, that everyone would like it.Kenneth Branagh uses his talent to direct this film. The witty and funny elements in the play has been made more funny in the film by the efforts of Branagh. He's a talented filmmaker. The music, the casting- all are beautiful. Everyone will like this film.Branagh has directed the film so nicely!! The setting of the film in Japan made me a bit curious, because the play wasn't set in Japan, was it? However, by setting the film in Japan, Branagh has added some elements which are truly praiseworthy. For example, the colorful kimonos in the film made the film more colorful.The casting was absolutely perfect. I especially liked the performances of Bryce Dallas Howard who plays Rosalind, Romola Garai who plays Celia, and Alfred Molina who plays Touchstone.The most entertaining parts of the film were the scenes where the story of Silvius-Phebe-Ganymede was shown. Those scenes were truly amazing both in the play and the film, and Branagh has added some extra elements, like the emotions of Phebe which make us laugh.Excluding the first scenes, the film will keep you laughing in almost all the scenes, especially where there are the presence of Touchstone, Phebe, Celia, and Jacques.A very nice movie. A perfect adaption of Shakespeare's play.

I cannot make up my mind whether the play is bad (it's not Shakespeare's greatest) or the film is bad (it's definitely not Branagh's finest hour). I think it's a bit of both. I went in with high expectations (after Branagh's Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, and Hamlet), but hated the whole enterprise from start to finish.The music was poor, Rosalind was mis-cast, and the whole Japan setting was a really bad idea that did not work.I hope this was just an aberration on Branagh's part and he can return to form. He is capable of excellent work with Shakespeare's plays, but this is a bad choice of play, badly done.