ThiefHott Too much of everything

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Candida It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

karen-loethen I have seen "Les Misérables" live on stage, the film, and several on stage recordings. It's impossible to see this particular film without comparing to other performances but I will comment on this film alone... The performance was quite magnificent. The cast overall was wonderful. I'll address Nick Jonas as Marius right away. His voice does not remotely compare to the professional theater performers, yet he does carry the songs well enough and he carries his scenes admirably enough. Side by side with Samantha Barks as Eponine, however, he pales in comparison to her amazing voice. So many excellent singers have brought such depth and strength to the character of Jean Valjean and Alfie Boe does an admirable job. His beautiful rendition of "Bring Him Home" really proves he has the chops to handle this role. As always Lea Salonga is fragile and strong as Fantine. Can anyone else play this role as well? Of all of the Javerts I have ever seen, none has ever been sung as masterfully as Norm Lewis; he is magnificent to watch. Ramin Karimloo as Enjolres is incredibly strong, again making Jonas pale in comparison. Karimloo is truly talented with a strong voice and perfect tone. The orchestra brought the entire performance together beautifully. Mesmerizing. I loved it.

anowlin-653-757637 I'm not sure I can think of a more excellent performance. Every emotion I can think of was elicited by the cast. WOW! Alfie Boe was extraordinary and showed vocal range and acting ability-dare I say humility? Norm Lewis was so near his equal in both acting and singing ability. Lea Salonga shows that she can act as well as she sings and that her voice stands the test of time. What can I say about Ramin Karimloo? Vocals, acting, stage presence and so much more. I particularly liked the casting of Matt Lucas to show the comedic side to this production and Jenny Galloway was next to superb.Heck, the whole ensemble is all so mentionable, Samantha Barks brings so much wonder to her tragic role of Eponine. This production reminded me of a line from a movie about opera, "You either love it or hate it." Well, I love "Les Miserables" and anyone who is connected with the productions through the years-is blessed. We have Victor Hugo to thank for the wonderful novel he wrote, 2 Frenchmen for adapting it and Cameron MacKintosh for bringing it all together.

Michael Miller The 25th Anniversary concert of Les Mis was put on at the 02 Centre in London in front of an enthusiastic crowd. The production was outstanding in almost every respect. The lighting was dramatic and set the mood, the costumes brilliant, the orchestra and chorus were brilliantly directed and there were some wonderful surprises at the end.Alfie Boe as Jean Valjean and Norm Lewis as Javert were perfectly cast. Mr. Boe mastered a very difficult role requiring great range, sensitivity and feeling and he nailed the performance. American-born Norm Lewis, a Florida native, captured the tormented essence of a man obsessed with a mission that never ends, that is relentless and life-draining, with grace and style.Katie Hall shone brilliantly as Cosette and Samantha Barks brought Eponine to life in a series of brilliant duets and arias. Their voices were clear and pure and could not have been more stellar. Matt Lucas and Jenny Galloway tried very hard to steal the show as the conniving but comical Thenardiers.The only weak spot in the production was the casting of Nick Jonas as Marius. In a show when one is surrounded by professionally-trained and experienced West End and Broadway performers, Jonas' lack of training, experience as a garage band musician propelled to "stardom" by the "magic" of Disney was the dinosaur in the room. His voice was weak, nasal and frequently off-key. Even the young boy who played Gavroche, Robert Madge, outshone the Jonas Brother. Mr. Jonas was clearly out of his league, good intentions notwithstanding.Overall the production was brilliant and vastly entertaining, a performance to be savored over and over. If only Mr. Jonas stuck to performing with his brothers ...

Solamortis My first experience with the Musical Les Mis was the 10th anniversary concert in 1995 which was broadcast on PBS. I fell in love with it. I bought the CD of the concert and even went to see the US version of the show when it came to my town.You would expect a 25th anniversary special to be huge with a great cast. I just finished watching it and a huge disappointment is how I would describe it.First the Pros: Alfie Boe has a good voice and while not as good as Colm Wilkinson he is one of the better singers in the cast. Samantha Barks has a beautiful voice and was a credit to the roll of Eponine. Ramin Karimloo in the roll of Enjolras has a strong voice and is well suited for the part. The singers making up the supporting members of the ABC group also did well in their rolls. Jenny Galloway returned to sing the part Madame Thénardier and as before was perfect.For the most part that's all the good I can say. Let move to the Cons: The first thing I noticed were the changes they made to the songs. While in some cases they did help the story, in many cases they made the songs seem jumpy and chaotic. Nick Jonas in the role of Marius was absolutely awful. He did not have the vocal strength or emotion for the role. Why Matt Lucas was picked to be Monsieur Thénardier I will may never know. The role calls for energy and the ability to provide comedic relief through gestures and voice. Mr. Lucas had neither and his voice was worse. Robert Madge played the role of Gavroche and his voice was OK at best. The weird looks he gave the audience while singing were ridiculous and overall he was not believable. Lastly the Part of Javert was sung by Norm Lewis. His voice again lacked strength and emotion. In some cases it was almost as if he was singing in a monotone manner or reading his lines.As a final note, at the very end, the original cast appears and puts this new cast to shame.