Review of Les Mis...

I finally saw the movie. Disappointing. In almost every possible way.

I saw the original musical cast in London in 1986. I wept through most of it. Powerful, heartbreaking, amazing, stunning, unforgettable.

Russell Crowe as Javert was weak. His voice was weak and his character one dimensional, lacking conviction to a pathetic degree. Javert was driven by his rightness, his strict adherence to the law. Crowe wasn't.

Anne Hathaway as Fantine knows how to cry and play pathetic. In the original, I couldn't imagine the horrors Fantine had to endure. Sadly, the producers of the movie made it quite clear to the point of titillating rather than desperation. Instead of empathizing with Fantine, I wanted the story to move on and put me out of my misery.

Colm Wilkinson played the Bishop quite well. However, the movie people ruined one of my favorite lines. They changed it to "I've saved your soul for God." No. No. No. "I have bought your soul for God." Infinitely more powerful. Another disappointment in the movie.

In the musical, the Innkeeper and his wife were slimy. In the movie, they took them to new lows and not for the better. Instead of being despicable lowlifes with buffoon qualities profiting on the misery of others they were cartoonish and disgusting and so over-the-top as to be unbearable. Again, I couldn't wait for the movie to move on.

The students were less college type and more high school.

Marius isn't nearly as good as the original.

Cosette as an adult is passable.

Because there are few special effects on the stage, the battle wasn't nearly as bloody or graphic, which actually made it much more... more. Again and again, the movie went for graphic for power instead of allowing the story and the music to be the driving force.

Not a complete loss:

Isabelle Allen played young Cosette well.

Samantha Banks played Eponine well.

Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean was the only one truly worth watching.