lallimj

I am not a theater person, so I can't comment on how good John Legend was compared with other people who have performed the role. He did seem a little "flat," (aloof, detached), but maybe that was what he was going for. after all, Max van Sydow is pretty "wooden" in the Greatest Story Ever Told, and he's considered a great actor. I thought Brandon Victor Dixon as Judas was excellent--maybe didn't fully capture the pathos of what it would have been like to sell out the King of the World, but let's face it, who of us really knows what that would feel like. Not many people have ever experienced that. // Loved the updating of the music and staging to make it cool, hip, and relevant to a new generation. Great job!

That about sums it up. The two actors have about as much chemistry and peanut butter and pickles. The scene where the leading man is supposed to declare his feelings for "Angela" is painful for him to deliver--the look on his face as if even he knows it's not believable. If you watch it with the sound down and don't listen to the trite dialogue, you should enjoy the view!

The acting by the leads is pretty good. The outside of the castle is lovely. However, much of the plot takes place in "dreary rooms": the children's center (which looks like a nasty daycare--the kid's aren't even having fun); or the utility room where the prince secretly works on HVAC. The prince has a "meet and greet" with three of the most eligible candidates, but we do not even get to see the "group date," rather the scene is set up, then cuts to commercial, and when the movie returns, it's the two leads talking about how the date went. Lame!