First I have to say I had very low expectations and standards for this movie. Not because I hate the actors, I don’t. They are all very talented. I also don’t hate Disney or have a strange loyalty to the old Disney movies from my childhood even tho I do love them. All I wanted was Gaston to be well done and for his song in the bar to be in the movie and fun. I got Gaston, and my bar scene. Savior was a happy camper. Because truly nobody does it like Gaston. But how was the rest of the movie?
Well honestly, it was pretty damn good. Emma Watson played Belle great which shouldn’t surprise anyone since really Belle and Hermione Granger are similar characters anyway. Both are bookworms that most people considered kind of odd that liked to do their own thing, and that is a role Emma spent half her life perfecting. And the Beast isn’t exactly some hard character either, he starts out as kind of a dick then turns out to be a pretty decent guy which Dan Stevens did well. The hardest part of that job really is something that can’t be taught and that is would Dan Stevens and Emma Watson have the right chemistry to make people believe that occurred naturally, which they did.
The biggest surprise for me tho was how close to the original they kept it while changing it enough to be its own thing. All the major scenes you would want are still very much there and they took the time to make them as accurate as they realistically could which was nice. As a person that liked the original but never loved it, this remake that I admittedly wanted very little from surpassed even my most optimistic expectation. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.