Review: 'Much Ado About Nothing' (2013)

If Shakespeare himself were to have seen four hundred years into the future, he most likely would have been pleased to see his work being treated with love and respect. Especially in the last two decades, the cinema has been privileged in having Shakespeare's words and stories emanate from the silver screen with such style; With the likes of 'Coriolanus' (2011), adapted by Ralph Fiennes into a contemporary setting in modern day Rome. Or Kenneth Branagh's version of 'Hamlet' (1996), which remained in a period setting, but still over a hundred years ahead of the time it was written. And now, we have Joss Whedon's modern day, contemporary version of 'Much Ado About Nothing'.

I've been familiar with this play in the past, and I must say that this one is a little minor on the scale of Shakespeare's other greats (in my humble opinion). But with that said, I really do like this story nonetheless. After all, mediocre Shakespeare is better than no Shakespeare at all. The language of Shakespeare is very much alive in this adaptation, and that's mostly great. There always has been, for me, a sort of weird feeling seeing these modern day individuals in everyday attire speaking as though they have come from another time and place. But I guess that's part of the charm of it, and it works for the most part.

In many ways, this was one of the first romantic-comedies in history, and surprisingly holds less cliches than most other 'rom-coms' of today. That's just one of the many genius things that hold up about Shakespeare. The man was definitely ahead of his time.

Joss Whedon is certainly one of the most talented filmmakers today. Not only can he create convincing and compelling characters, popular television shows and one of the highest grossing movies of all time ('The Avengers'), but he also has a passion for literature and apparently will do anything to bring it to life. Like filming it in his own house, for instance. Yes, the main location for this film was indeed Whedon's own home. And according to some sources, he filmed this entire movie in the course of a single month. That's some pretty solid dedication.

With Joss Whedon being the adamant man on story-structure he is, it only makes sense that he should pay tribute to the master storyteller himself, of whom was William Shakespeare.

My rating: 3 / 4