Great Expectations

[Yinster]

Young orphan Pip is given a chance to rise from his humble beginnings thanks to a mysterious benefactor. Moving through London’s class ridden world as a gentleman, Pip uses his new found position to pursue the beautiful Estella; a spoilt heiress he’s loved since childhood. Yet the shocking truth behind his great fortune will have devastating consequences for everything he holds dear.


Just to say that Showcases cinemas are doing pa*d previews for their Insiders cardholders and this includes those who sign up on the day.

16:30 Sunday November 11
16:30 Sunday November 25

Insider member price £5

[funthing29]

Not a bad film in itself but not the strongest adaptation I have seen. The 3-part BBC series from last Christmas (starring Ray Winstone and Gilian Anderson) is definitely superior.

This had all the right elements and condensed the story into 2 hours whilst keeping all the important characters, but it was nothing special. It made competent use of the material but did not try anything new or different to make this memorable. It had a strong supporting cast but not enough time was spent establishing the relationship between Pip and Estella at the start. 6.5/10.

[millwall]

Saw Great Expectations last night at Cardiff Vue i enjoyed it but no real different from the other films.

[jcolombi]

Not a bad film in itself but not the strongest adaptation I have seen. The 3-part BBC series from last Christmas (starring Ray Winstone and Gilian Anderson) is definitely superior.

This had all the right elements and condensed the story into 2 hours whilst keeping all the important characters, but it was nothing special. It made competent use of the material but did not try anything new or different to make this memorable. It had a strong supporting cast but not enough time was spent establishing the relationship between Pip and Estella at the start. 6.5/10.

I felt exactly the same way when leaving the cinema...

I loved the acting, I fought they all acted superbly!

[FBS]

Was very mediocre, once Pip became a gentleman it seemed to meander all over the place for about 45 minutes. The lead actor was truly terrible. The one positive was I thought it looked very good, especially the countryside and estuary scenes

[valda]

I agree with every one else on this. I left the cinema thinking 'what was the point?' There are so many good versions and as F_T said, the BBC adaptation was far superior.

So So performances with a 'handsome' leading man who can't act, surrounded by a cast of quirky character actors and Walliams It looked pretty. 6/10

[ladylivvie]

Saw this at the Vue in Islington last night. The screening was really full, two people came in about 30 minutes into the film had to sit apart as there were only single seats left. Beautifully shot, I thought with all the usual vivid depictions of London and the countryside. Helena Bonham Carter had some witty moments, but I didn't quite feel that she was tragic or despicable enough. As with the BBC adaptation, Pip was a bit dull, and didn't make me feel any emotion towards him. An enjoyable night though, and if anyone wanted to see it, I wouldn't dissuade them. 8/10.

[raj101]

this is why Wuthering Heights from last year was so underrated. It was ugly and dull in places (costume dramas usually are at some point), but at least it dared to be different. Fresh interpretations are always welcome.

[canadian_turtle]

Young Pip was a better actor than older Pip (though Jeremy Irvine is very pretty to look at, at least), Estella was a dull and one dimensional character which really made it unbelievable that Pip would be thinking of her every minute of every day etc etc etc and Helena Bonham Carter was being her usual annoying self (I cannot stand her and her "crazy" characters I've only ever enjoyed her performance in The King's Speech).

However, I thought Joe and Herbert were brilliant (and I wish there had been more of them), the storyline of the younger versions of the characters was fascinating, the story came together well at the end and the movie overall looked stunning (beautiful shots of the landscapes and oh my Estella's dresses were gorgeous).

6.5/10

[ejwrank]

I agree that the BBC TV series last Christmas was superior. This might be interesting for someone completely new to Great Expectations but quite ordinary for anyone else.

Islington Vue managed to turn on the lights for the last 10 minutes of the film and naturally the Duty Manager said it wasn't their fault. This is the umpteenth time that has happened at Islington Vue which is maddening -- all blamed on automated projection.


By the way, we moved down a seat before the film started so two people could sit together but had no sympathy for the two who had to separate (poor lambs) who turned up 20 minutes into the film and then lingered in the aisle looking for seats. If you're late, just shut up and take a seat wherever -- do not discuss options. And the young woman next to us in the back row with the large bag of popcorn in the noisiest bag ever -- I finally told her to put it away. I mean how much popcorn can one person eat???? "Oink, oink" said my daughter.