Runtime:
108 minutes
Release
Date: February 5, 2016
Rating:
PG-13
Director:
Burr Steers
Anyone
who ever took a woman's literature class in college or a course on
British literature probably read Pride and Prejudice before. While
adding zombies to the story should make things more interesting (and
keep me from nodding off), the film version was pretty meh.
Just in
case you don't know the story, the writer literally took the original
book and added new scenes that involve the Bennett sisters hunting
zombies while trying to find husbands and spend time together as a
family. All the iconic characters are here, including Mr. Darcy, who
actually does do the jump into the pond while fully dressed that so
many women love. It's basically a classic British story with elements
of love and scenes of zombies thrown in the middle.
The
first time I saw a trailer for Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, my
jaw literally dropped. Though I remember reading the book in college,
I also remember finding it so boring that I skipped entire sections
and skimmed over pages just to get to the end. Throwing in action
sequences and letting the ladies fight zombies at the same time
seemed like a great idea. I should also admit here that I absolutely
loved Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and got a kick out of the film
version. As much as I wanted to like this movie, it just didn't do it
for me.
The
problem is that it felt like such a departure from the book itself. I
kept waiting for scenes that I would recognize from the book, but it
felt like the screenwriter and directed wanted to make a movie that
focused more on the zombie elements than on the original story.
Instead of getting scenes of the girls talking about love, we get
scenes of them talking about weapons or sharpening their weapons.
There were very few scenes that seemingly came from the book, which
leaves me suspicious that the film only features the new elements
added to the book.
You
can't think about Pride and Prejudice without thinking about
Elizabeth and Darcy. Despite the two of them having their share of
ups and downs, you know that they'll wind up together in the end. The
film spent so much time keeping them apart that I didn't even pick up
on a romance vibe. It probably didn't help that the two had
absolutely no chemistry together. Darcy came across as just some
random guy who happens to kill zombies instead of a romantic lead.
After
reading reviews that talked about how funny the film was, I kept
waiting for a scene that would make me laugh. Being a huge fan of
Monty Python and Hot Fuzz type films, it really didn't deliver any
laughs, not even “dead” pan laughs.
Pride
and Prejudice and Zombies was just plain boring and something I can't
imagine myself ever watching again.
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