Les Miserables (2012)Movie Reviews


  • Must Go! Based on 37,907 reviews
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    Written December 26, 2012

    Very good musical - fair entertainment

    You should be a fan of musicals to begin with but there are very memorable singing peformances by Ann Hathaway and Hugh Jackman and some people may just want to see Russell Crowe tuning up his tonsils.
    As overall entertainment for someone who is not particularly a fan of musicals it is just fair as there are some very dramatic scenes but overall things begin to get lengthy. Performances are 4 star all around and Amanda Seyfreid is surprising.

    • 6 out of 7 found this review helpful.
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  • Must Go!
    Written December 30, 2012

    A movie to "Experience", rather than "see".

    This is not a movie to "see" as much as it is to "experience". It is deeply moving, entirely musical and, as far as I can remember, theatrically faithful to the stage production. If you have seen the stage production, read the book, or have seen any of the many versions brought to the screen, you will find this version entirely satisfying. If you are unfamiliar with Les Mis, as my friend was, it will knock your socks off! This is "A Three Handkerchief Movie"!

    Visually, for me, some of the close-ups were too extreme because they were so constant, but then Ann Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, and Russell Crowe were incredible and owned the screen when they were on. Well done, worth going to, bring a date, and cry your heart out!

    • 5 out of 5 found this review helpful.
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  • Must Go!
    Written December 31, 2012

    Les Miserables - Filled with Grace

    Very enjoyable and filled with deep religious grace that made it even more powerful. It is a long movie that is not very suitable for restless children.

    • 5 out of 5 found this review helpful.
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  • Must Go!
    Written December 27, 2012

    MUCH MUCH BETTER THAN CRITICS INDICATE

    by rvm61

    True to the play, this movie reveals more of the original novel.

    Music is great...as in the musical.

    Story is great...as in the Novel.

    Movie is great...as in GO SEE IT!!!

    After reading a couple of critical reviews, I was concerned the movie would be a let down.

    I am happy to inform you that it is not.

    Be ready to shed a tear. My girlfriend sobbed half of the movie.

    • 5 out of 5 found this review helpful.
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  • Must Go!
    Written December 27, 2012

    One of my Favorites!

    The actors in this film are fantastic!!! I have always loved the stage productions of Les Mis. It was nice to see it on screen.. I gained a much better comprehension of the story than I had before.
    Beautiful cinematography!
    Beautiful music. Beautiful story.
    A great movie to see over the holidays!!
    Not a move for small children.... (long, and violence in some scenes, but )good for teens through adults.

    • 5 out of 5 found this review helpful.
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  • Must Go!
    Written January 13, 2013

    Sacrificial Love

    Mercy and Grace and the giving up of "self" for others. A sorely needed message in today's world. Beautiful, inspiring music! Excellent cast! Go...be inspired!

    • 5 out of 5 found this review helpful.
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  • Must Go!
    Written December 30, 2012

    Beautifully done!!

    Les Misérables has been my favorite play since it came out in 1985 and I have to say I had low expectations about the movie version, especially after the so-so movie adaptations of Phantom, Evita, and Sweeney Todd. I was wrong!! The movie version of Les Misérables was awesome!! The visuals were stunning and the acting/singing were superbly done. If any of you were on the fence about seeing the movie you should definitely go see it!

    • 7 out of 9 found this review helpful.
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  • So-so
    Written December 27, 2012

    Good But 1.camera work almost ruined it and 2. PG-15!

    by maritdw

    Fabulous, BUT... ~~~Music was surprisingly good -coming from a die hard Les Mis fan. Acting was excellent. Costumes were good. The staging was nice. Story was exceptional -change your life- kind of story, as usual. Characters were for the most part very believable.~~~
    The camera work was terrible. Almost ruined the movie! They shot it in a stylized format with very short depth of field - backgrounds blurry and directs your eyes where they want you to see. However, they missed. Short depth of field too short and with moving subjects? the closeups were out of focus about half of the time. Seriously! Why pay $10 for a movie when they don't have any of their face in focus? Not even one eye? VERY DISTRACTING! Also, they used wide angle lenses several times that distorted the faces too much. ~~~The vulgarity, and sex scene were too much. The violence was strong. Too much for a young teen.~~~Truer to the book than the musical - a little. good overall. See, but with caution.

    • 5 out of 5 found this review helpful.
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  • Must Go!
    Written December 27, 2012

    Les Miserables, Bravo!

    We went on opening day to avoid any spoilers (either media or neighbor generated).

    We thought they did an EXCELLENT job in telling the story. Many new viewers might be thrown off by the on-stage performance. Hugh Jackman & Ann Hathaway can SING! who knew. The supporting cast also did a good job with their parts.
    The only vocal portion that wasn't very strong belongs to Russel Crowe. He makes you believe his character is Inspector Javert. That stops as soon as he starts to sing.

    If you are a fan of the Stage production, then you must go see this film! Just don't expect much from Mr. Crowe's singing.

    • 7 out of 9 found this review helpful.
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  • Must Go!
    Written December 28, 2012

    SHOULD BE BEST PICTURE OF THE YEAR

    I WENT TO THIS MOVIE AFTER SEEING THE STAGE PLAY MANY TIMES, AND THE PBS 25 ANNIVERSARY PRODUCTION SEVERAL MORE TIMES. I WAS PREPARED TO HATE THESE
    ACTORS TRYING TO SING...BOY WAS I WRONG. THIS IS A VERY POWERFUL MOVIE, EXTREMELY WELL DONE AND IT JUST BLEW ME AWAY. HAVING COLM WILKENSEN INCLUDED WAS ICING ON THE CAKE. I THOUGHT EDDIE REDMAYNE AS MARIUS WAS PROBABLY AMONG THE BEST MARIUS I HAVE SEEN...I LOVED HIM IN THIS PART. PROBABLY TO ME RUSSELL CROWE WAS THE WEAK LINK, BUT NOT BAD ENOUGH TO MAKE AN ISSUE OF IT. HUGH JACKMAN AND ANNE HATHAWAY WERE SUPERB. I THOUGHT IT A TOUGH UNDERTAKING WHEN YOU THINK OF THE HUNDREDS OF LES MES PRODUCTIONS...BUT THIS IS DEFINITELY A CANDIDATE FOR BEST PICTURE AND ONE I HIGHLY RECOMMEND...JUST TAKE YOUR KLEENEX!

    • 5 out of 5 found this review helpful.
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  • Must Go!
    Written January 2, 2013

    Les Miserables

    I see a lot of movies -- a lot -- and I can honestly say, with much enthusiasm, that this is the best movie I've ever seen. I loved it. Recommend it highly. Can't say enough good things about the cast, the music, the songs, the scenery, costuming. I can't stop thinking about this movie. Bravo.

    • 5 out of 5 found this review helpful.
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  • No
    Written January 28, 2013

    What a Waste!

    by AD777

    I'm a huge fan of Victor Hugo's novel. Loved the musical, but I truly feel that this movie is not doing justice to this amazing story at all. First I don't understand why Russell Crowe is singing, cause he shouldn't. But not only him, most of the cast is horrible to listen to ( The adult Cosette has an annoying voice, so is Marius and few others). The surprise came from Jean-Valjean (Hugh Jackman), Fantine (Anne Hathaway), Eponine (Samantha Barks) et Gavroche (Daniel Huttlestone) which I really enjoyed. I didn't feel transported by the movie, which I believe was badly filmed, too much close ups and wide deforming angles, they kinda made Paris look like London. There are a bunch of details that really annoyed me.
    It's a shame that Hollywood had to impose their film stars, cause when you went to see the musical, none knew who the singers/actors were and you still felt the magic happen.
    So far, only the 2 first french version of this story remain the best to me.

    • 5 out of 5 found this review helpful.
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  • Oh No!
    Written December 27, 2012

    NOT a musical

    FYI, this is NOT a musical, THIS is an Opera. I'm a fan of musicals, and not a fan of Opera. The difference is argued frequently, but a musical has spoken dialect with musical interruptions, and opera has very little if any spoken lines. If you expect a musical, your not going to get one. If your not a fan of Opera, you're very likely NOT going to like this movie. For an Opera it was good, for a musical it was horrible. I went in expecting a musical, and not having seen the stage production, so I do understand why this is a popular movie. Not a movie for me.

    • 5 out of 5 found this review helpful.
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  • Oh No!
    Written February 7, 2013

    Oh Dear God...

    The previews looked like they might actually pull this off - but I almost left the theatre!

    Hugh Jackman and Anne both did lovely performances - but an operetta, I did not know it was and the movie SO could have been better served by words instead of sing songy things to move the plot forward.

    I know many people loved the stage show, I have friends who went twice - but, as a huge fan of Stephen Sondheim - this musical just has none of the panache.

    It stands on 'grandeur' and it's huge following from the stage.

    Now, I know why I never saw it in the theatre. Glad I didn't pay $75 to see it!

    And, poor Russell Crowe, someone put him out of his misery - what were they thinking?

    Enough said ;-)

    jem

    • 6 out of 7 found this review helpful.
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  • Must Go!
    Written January 4, 2013

    Fantastic

    The music is fantastic, the vocals are so beautiful, and I basically cried the whole movie through. The acting was fantastic, you definitely should go see Les Miserables.

    • 5 out of 5 found this review helpful.
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Les Miserables (2012) Movie Reviews + Ratings

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Tweets About Les Miserables (2012)

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Russwarne Tony opening number just finished. I'm not the only one who hated the constant closeups of the "Les Mis" movie. #lesmis #tonyawards

10 days ago.

leahbob95 Just finished this movie. It was called like, "Less Miserables" or something. #lesmis

12 days ago.

PyneAlex I rented the Les Mis. movie tonight and it was AMAZING!!! Phantom's still my favorite musical though. #lesmis

12 days ago.

Emily_Longtin there was conflict in my house over whether to watch a movie for d-day or barricade day. Of course, Barricade Day won out. #LesMis

13 days ago.

peytonjim Amazing, acting in the Les Mis 10th Anniv concert was so much better than the dogs breakfast movie. No, can't treat them separately #lesmis

13 days ago.

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