Les Miserables Review

Les Miserables Review

Before I start, I have to admit that I have never watched or read Les Miserables before seeing this movie. So if you make the argument that in the book, or the original musical, something is explained in further detail, I will just say that I'm basing my opinion off the movie, and the movie alone.
The movie starts off as we see our main character Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), who is just being released from prison after serving 14 years for stealing some bread (4 for the bread, 10 for trying to escape). Even though he is released by Javert (Russell Crowe), Jean is forced into parole. Eventually, he gets tired of how everyone is treating him, and realizes that he has to escape. He successful evades the police for 14 years.
The story is a classic, and the characters are unforgettable. Anne Hathaway gives the performance of her life (I Dreamed A Dream is now my favorite song), and she definitely has the Oscar in the bag. The songs are memorable, making me understand why this musical is such a classic. I often forget how good Hugh Jackman is at singing, and the fight scenes are pretty epic. The songs are all creatively performed, the scenery and sets are astounding, and even the such trivial things like costume and make-up are done to the utmost perfection. Most of the actors and actresses do an amazing job with their characters, with the exception of...
Javert. Oh Javert. I know that many people have said that Russell Crowe did a terrible job of acting and singing (add hyperlink to Onion article), but to be fair, he wasn't exactly given a lot of depth into his character. Javert is given barely any reason as to actively pursue Jean for all these years. Was Jean the only person to break parole in France? Seriously, the way Javert goes after Prisoner 24601 (yes, he memorized Jean's prison number), it seems like Javert is...a robot.
He fits all the criteria: He doesn't laugh, cry, or love. I watched the whole thing; he rarely smiles, he never cries, and he never shows love for anyone. He is a robot to his core (which I presume is made of liquid metal). He follows a man who broke parole 7 years ago, when he commits a crime (even a small one) he doesn't hide and immediately turns himself in, and (SPOILERS) after Jean forgives Javert and spares his life, he still tracks Jean down and tries to arrest him, but instead malfunctions and kills himself. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought this was a prequel to Judge Dredd. Even the poster confused me (add hyperlink for Javert poster).
Now many may disagree with my stance, saying that Javert is supposed to be obsessed with the law, but is still human in some respect. Some might even say that at the end when (SPOILERS) Javert gives his medal to the dead boy, he was showing some of his humanity. But it still doesn't do it for me. Remember, I am only basing my opinion on this movie alone, which doesn't mean I will feel this way if I watch other productions. And also, that scene seemed forced to me, as if the director realized that Javert had showed absolutely no human emotion in the entire movie.
Now you would think that I didn't like this movie, on account of the fact I just prattled on about how much I loved Javert's lack of human feeling. Javert aside, this movie is mostly for the fans of Les Mis. But it does have something for everyone. If you are looking to see why people like Les Mis so much, you should probably see it on Broadway (unless you are like me, and you start with the worst version first and work up. That's why my first Bond film was A View to a Kill). If you like watching bad movies, watch Jack Reacher, not this.
I remember after I first watched this movie, and then sat down to write my original review, I apologized no less than six times in that review. Coming out of it, I was so tired of all the singing, and the chasing, and the Javert-ing, that I could help but feel that I was insulting someone by saying it was as bad as I felt it was. But after some time, and a few good jokes later ("Javert, I'm sorry to say that we are closing down the bread-crimes division" -Mr. Gambone), I realized that this movie was for people to discuss and praise, but also mock, even with the hardcore fans.
This movie was hyped up for a while before it was released, and once it was, it lived up to all the expectations...of the fans. But for me, it did do a good job of teaching me the Les Miserables story, songs, and characters. So this movie really has something for everyone. I give it a 4 out of 5.