I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Fantastic!

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Very beautiful production of "Much Ado About Nothing," primarily driven by: (1) Adherence to Shakespeare's original language, really well done. (2) Powerful acting, especially by the three key leads: Amy Acker as Beatrice, Alexis Denisof as Benedick, and Clark Gregg as Leonato. The "love, commitment, and confrontation scenes" in the second half of the play are among the most moving I have seen in a Shakespeare production. (3) Simplicity of the setting: to my understanding, Joss Whedon convened the cast and filmed in his home as a straightforward path to producing this play. Think of it as a group of friends coming over to Whedon's home for a reading of Shakespeare's play, and you will not be disappointed. The original language and simplicity of the setting focuses the audience's attention on the thoughts, emotions, and language. (4) The modern setting is a way to production expediency, while the preservation of the original language prevents it from being anachronistic. Believe the positive reviews; my wife and I were moved by this performance!

The film was shot in Santa Monica (Los Angeles County, CA, US), in modern dress, with computers, pistols, automobiles, and live cell phone video.Leonato, the governor of Messina, welcomes back Don Pedro and his comrades, Benedick and Claudio, from a successful campaign, and hosts them for a time. Claudio and Leonato's daughter Hero take a liking to one another quickly. Benedick and Leonato's niece Beatrice take a dislike to one another and argue heatedly.Claudio and Hero's marriage is arranged quickly, while friends decide to deceive Benedick and Beatrice into thinking that each is in love with the other. Don Pedro's brother Don John arranges for Borachio and Conrade to bear false witness that Hero was untrue to Claudio. The marriage is stopped during the ceremony. Hero is rejected as an adulteress by her prospective groom, by her father, and by Don Pedro. Beatrice does not believe it. The priest at the ceremony counsels cooling down and investigating.Since this is a comedy, one knows that most of the issues will be resolved with a good dose of wit.-----Scores-----Cinematography: 8/10 Greyscale (the vast majority of pixels are neither black nor white) is not my favourite, and never will be. Despite that, most of this film is beautifully shot; I took off 2 points for camera shake.Sound: 7/10 There is a whole lot of mumbling going on. I was hoping for crisply spoken and perfectly miked dialog.Acting: 7/10 Amy Acker, Sean Maher, Clark Gregg, and Reed Diamond were delightful. I expected a bit more from some of the other actors.Screenplay: 9/10 The modern visuals with a dose of modern musical instruments coupled with the original text was an interesting mix. Perhaps this is not for everyone, but I liked it.

Seriously one of the best Shakespearean productions I've ever seen. American accents sounded strange at first, but then turned comfortable. The music was beautiful and the direction (both by Joss Whedon) was brilliant. Whedon is very loyal to the actors he works with so if you have seen any of his other stuff you will recognize several. Clark Gregg (Leonato)from The Avengers continues to impress me, but my favorites were Nathan Fillion (Dogberry "I am an ass.") and Tom Lenk (Dogberry's partner Verges.)OK. I admit to being a huge Whedon fan, which means I'm biased to begin with, but I loved this adaptation. I did start with a 10 out of 10 score, but then dropped it to a 9 only because nothing is perfect. While I do understand how some reviewers are panning this version by comparing it to the 1993 Branagh version (also brilliant) I would remind potential viewers that 10 years have passed between the making of these two movies and that Whedon and Branagh's vision/interpretation/direction is very different. Both are worth the viewing; this one just happens to be my favorite.

The only other Shakespearian adaptation I've ever seen is Coriolanus, and it was a bit tough to follow. I was hesitant about this for that reason, but after about the first 10 minutes I was constantly riveted and entertained. The story, the characters, the cast are endlessly charming and the story never falters or lets go. Amy Acker is just fantastic in this, and many supporting players do great things. Nathian Fillion, in particular, steals his scenes in just the short screen time he has. It helps that I was so entertained because I didn't know the story. It's a wonder how much Joss Whedon does with such a limited amount of resources. This is truly one of the best films of 2013.