Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
DreamWorks SKG | Release Date: December 21, 2007
7.7
USER SCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 660 Ratings
USER RATING DISTRIBUTION
Positive:
511
Mixed:
93
Negative:
56
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand
Review this movie
VOTE NOW
 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Check box if your review contains spoilers 0 characters (5000 max)

User Reviews

User scoreBy dateMost helpful
6
RiccardoT.Feb 25, 2008
The large number of gruesome scenes prevent a lot of spectators from appreciating this movie.
1 of 2 users found this helpful
4
TheDudeJan 4, 2008
Yikes! Am I the only one who didn't like this movie? I wanted to like it, but it just didn't do it for me. The songs didn't grab me. By the end there still just weren't any that I liked, so instead of enjoying the music, Yikes! Am I the only one who didn't like this movie? I wanted to like it, but it just didn't do it for me. The songs didn't grab me. By the end there still just weren't any that I liked, so instead of enjoying the music, it felt more like a musical barrage that I just had to endure through. That was compounded by the darkness of the tale. The whole experience was just too abrasive for me. I expected it to be dark, but I expected it to be more fun. There was some humor(black humor, of course!) but overall it was just too bleak and I frankly just didn't care for the songs, so I couldn't enjoy it.… Expand
1 of 3 users found this helpful
4
MichaelE.Feb 12, 2008
No fun at all. To the extent that there is a plot it is transparent and redundant. To the extent that there is a subtext (regarding class warfare) it is brushed aside and stereotyped at every opportunity. To the extent that there are songs No fun at all. To the extent that there is a plot it is transparent and redundant. To the extent that there is a subtext (regarding class warfare) it is brushed aside and stereotyped at every opportunity. To the extent that there are songs they are unmemorable and occasionally tuneless. To the extent that there is a visual design it is unimpressive. One of the least interesting films around.… Expand
1 of 3 users found this helpful
4
mmApr 20, 2008
lifeless and in the end boring. The lackluster singing of the leads and lack of chemistry doomed this venture. I find Simon B and DJs comments below funny - no bad movies, is that a real statement? And complaining to the editors of lifeless and in the end boring. The lackluster singing of the leads and lack of chemistry doomed this venture. I find Simon B and DJs comments below funny - no bad movies, is that a real statement? And complaining to the editors of metacritic about the 83 score - blame the critics - I see a lot of 90 and 100s up there.… Expand
1 of 3 users found this helpful
4
LarryR.Jul 4, 2008
The singing is annoying; the songs are mediocre. If the actors would have just not sung, the movie might have been tolerable.
1 of 4 users found this helpful
4
TonyJan 1, 2008
Dark, dull, boring and boring. Did I mention it was boring?
0 of 2 users found this helpful
6
J.K.Jan 3, 2008
Has a case of high expectations pulled the wool over our eyes? The emperor has no clothes with this one. Brilliant set design, inspired casting, flawless performances, and technical mastery all can't make up for the fact that this film Has a case of high expectations pulled the wool over our eyes? The emperor has no clothes with this one. Brilliant set design, inspired casting, flawless performances, and technical mastery all can't make up for the fact that this film has no soul. The bit of audience empathy Burton stirs up for Todd is frozen in minutes by his humorless misanthropy. Soundheim's lyricism does bring needed life to the film. The tunes are good, but not great. They are ultimately forgettable and inadequate supports for the weight of so much mindless gore. With the lack of emotional center, by the time the blood really starts to spurt, each beautiful cut makes me cringe. Somehow the film is much less than the sum of it's parts. Despite truly lovely performances from all, by midway through I don't care anymore, and I'm less enjoying a film than simply waiting for the gore to end.… Expand
0 of 1 users found this helpful
4
JesseW.Feb 3, 2008
Amazing movie in all respects except one; the singing was extremely bad... like squirm in your seat and cover your ears bad. Headache bad. It was like sitting through 2 hours of alley cats yowling. I would have scored it higher if it was on mute!
0 of 1 users found this helpful
6
JoM.Jan 1, 2008
How did this get made??? Hollywood has too much money to waste!!! What seemed to be a charming film, turned in to a disturbing blood bath.
0 of 1 users found this helpful
6
mandyg.Jan 27, 2008
Film was good.. but i think that with it being a musical spoiled it...it dragged it on far too long!
0 of 1 users found this helpful
6
vidManDec 21, 2007
The film shows occasional brilliance and great dark humor, but overall, is slowed down with passionateless singing.
0 of 1 users found this helpful
4
GlenG.Dec 22, 2007
Ms. Carter's performance ruined what was otherwise a fine film. She was just terrible. Of course, I am jaded by the ghost of Ms. Lansbury's performance in the original version, but surely someone better suited to this role could Ms. Carter's performance ruined what was otherwise a fine film. She was just terrible. Of course, I am jaded by the ghost of Ms. Lansbury's performance in the original version, but surely someone better suited to this role could have been found.… Expand
0 of 1 users found this helpful
4
DavidD.Dec 29, 2007
Most over-rated movie this year.
0 of 1 users found this helpful
5
MikeS.Oct 15, 2008
The film, much like Shakespeare's Hamlet, gets across the point that revenge will bring about a tragic ending and seldom go as planned. Unlike Hamlet, this film seeks to jar your mouth open and pour in as much gore and tasteless The film, much like Shakespeare's Hamlet, gets across the point that revenge will bring about a tragic ending and seldom go as planned. Unlike Hamlet, this film seeks to jar your mouth open and pour in as much gore and tasteless violence as possible, so you're left with indigestion while you're comprehending it afterwards. Take the idea of the forced open throat as you will. This movie neither attracted me, nor repelled me: kind of like the effect of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.… Expand
0 of 1 users found this helpful
6
Trev29Aug 31, 2012
The music was not remotely one of the positive aspects of this movie. Wonderful and delightful acting. The art direction was spectacular. The ending was exciting and tasteful. The music is just boring.
0 of 1 users found this helpful01
All this user's reviews
6
KivaJun 12, 2013
The atmosphere was good. And the music too. But the film was not good. I've read the reviews and i expected a masterpiece. Johnny Depp is really good and Helena Carter. However, there is something missing from this movie..
0 of 1 users found this helpful01
All this user's reviews
4
AaronWasserman1Apr 23, 2016
I am not a fan of musicals, or Tim Burton. So obviously my enjoyment is going to be hard for this movie. The acting is fine, but aside from that, a very boring and brooding movie that I just wanted to end.
0 of 1 users found this helpful01
All this user's reviews
6
mwil236Oct 2, 2016
Shocked by the number of overwhelmingly positive reviews; perhaps I am simply a charlatan of the world of musicals. From a strictly objective, dumbly American consumerist perspective, this is not a great movie - it's hardly even anShocked by the number of overwhelmingly positive reviews; perhaps I am simply a charlatan of the world of musicals. From a strictly objective, dumbly American consumerist perspective, this is not a great movie - it's hardly even an entertaining movie. Johnny Depp simply plays a Johnny-Depp like character with weird hair and the kind of brooding secret past life any misunderstood 15 year old would wish to have. He and Helena Bonham-Carter seem to be having a film-long contest to see who can conjure the hardest to understand Cockney accent. And again, call me a cynic, but the "singing" portions are not even well-masked as genuine.

The story is simple enough to understand, but you'll be treated to almost nothing but song for the first 30 minutes, which doesn't help make it any easier. It has the traditional absurdist twists of a musical which is entertaining enough, but ultimately the movie has no real charm. The artistic direction is admirable, I suppose - the bleakness of a dirty and gray world contrasted with the vengeful color of blood. Unfortunately, it looks like Burton purchased a Campbell's soup factory and used all of the tomato they had for his blood rigs.… Expand
0 of 1 users found this helpful01
All this user's reviews
6
SilentTacticianFeb 23, 2018
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Interesting ending, okay singing, decent characters and typical Tim Burton ambiance. Fun to watch at least once by yourself and then later with others. One of the better musical movies but I didn't feel enraptured by it. The blood was put in beautiful contrast with the dull and grim colors. Wasn't surprised when the poor lady turned out to be his wife. Better if you're a bit tipsy.… Expand
0 of 1 users found this helpful01
All this user's reviews
6
BM85Sep 26, 2019
PROS: impressive visuals and great music; compelling acting and singing, particularly from Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter; beautifully dark, vengeful and entertaining film to watch until Sweeney starts killing random people.
CONS:PROS: impressive visuals and great music; compelling acting and singing, particularly from Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter; beautifully dark, vengeful and entertaining film to watch until Sweeney starts killing random people.
CONS: Sweeney kills random people just because he's angry with the world and Mrs. Lovett needs meat to make her pies; gratuitous gruesome violence; tragically bloody bad ending, in more ways than one.… Expand
0 of 1 users found this helpful01
All this user's reviews
5
Bagoli_roliAug 31, 2019
Love the actors and it is really well made. I grew up watching this version but after seeing other ones this just doesn't really hold the high note. Almost everyone is monotone which suits the style, but it misses the camp factor that reallyLove the actors and it is really well made. I grew up watching this version but after seeing other ones this just doesn't really hold the high note. Almost everyone is monotone which suits the style, but it misses the camp factor that really makes this musical great.… Expand
0 of 1 users found this helpful01
All this user's reviews
4
VirtualnerdOct 2, 2022
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The final plotwist with the kid killing Todd was unexpected, and the murder of his own mother was also unexpected, but overall the movie is all over the place.… Expand
0 of 1 users found this helpful01
All this user's reviews
4
[Anonymous]Dec 30, 2007
Way better movies, not worth the time, too much blood for my taste.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
6
JamesA.Jan 1, 2008
First, the acting of Johnny Depp is too good as usual. This man has all the charming and the looks. This movie is a MUSICAL. So people not interested in MUSICAL can stay back at home, rent the video and watch it. Other than that the story is First, the acting of Johnny Depp is too good as usual. This man has all the charming and the looks. This movie is a MUSICAL. So people not interested in MUSICAL can stay back at home, rent the video and watch it. Other than that the story is really good.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
6
MattHDec 14, 2008
I didn't entirely dislike the film but I felt there were a lot of plot avenues that were left unexplored which rendered a lot of the motivations of the main characters somewhat ambiguous. I enjoyed the visuals but only the first few I didn't entirely dislike the film but I felt there were a lot of plot avenues that were left unexplored which rendered a lot of the motivations of the main characters somewhat ambiguous. I enjoyed the visuals but only the first few times they were shown! A bit more variety in the depictions of the sets, characters and actions would have gone a long way. I thought the singing performances were great but the songs were structureless and dull which is not a good thing in a musical with more singing than speaking. As the music was already in place it was not a symptom of a poor film but in fact the root cause of a film that misses it's marks - it was an obstacle that the director nor the cast could possibly overcome.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
6
JamesP.Jan 24, 2008
Awesome performances, amazing production design, great costumes, some amusing lyrics but APPALLING music. Not one memorable tune in the whole film. If you want a great musical, go rent Hairspray - Sweeney Todd is more to be admired than enjoyed.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
4
TomP.Jan 25, 2008
I find it hard to completely dislike almost any movie but Sweeney Todd is an exception. I found nothing to like in this overly stylized tribute to the darkness in the souls of men. The inevitable and predictable violence was gratuitous and I find it hard to completely dislike almost any movie but Sweeney Todd is an exception. I found nothing to like in this overly stylized tribute to the darkness in the souls of men. The inevitable and predictable violence was gratuitous and strangely without meaning. The characterizations were particularly shallow except, perhaps, for Helena Bonham Carter's as Mrs. Lovett and Ed Sanders as Toby. The music, which many reviewers have attempted to redeem as "adequate" or "acceptable" is, in fact, awful. The scoring is overwhelmingly harsh and within seconds after leaving the theater I could not remember a single melody or more than two or three words of any lyric. I'm sorry, but Johnny Depp is not a singer. Moreover his facial and body nuances were nothing more than rehashed Cap'n Jack from Pirates. And I say this as a pretty big Depp fan in general. As usual Tim Burton has created a deeply atmospheric experience but it's not enough to carry the day. With regret, not recommended.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
5
GabeJan 3, 2008
If you don't want to see a musical don't go to this movie. I thought the singing was pretty good, especially the little kid. Otherwise I was absolutely disgusted by this movie. Way too much blood, just not my kind of movie.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
6
HollyCJan 4, 2008
Pretty good, not great, not bad at all---just OK (or a little better than OK). I think there is more hype to this film because of the good credit most audiences and critics have of both Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. As most have already Pretty good, not great, not bad at all---just OK (or a little better than OK). I think there is more hype to this film because of the good credit most audiences and critics have of both Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. As most have already commented on--there's something missing (heart maybe?) as well as kind of a weak showing of singing voices from the main actors (though Depp was OK)--and I think that's why they upped the score/sound quite a bit to cover for that. I didn't think the morbid scenes were too bad, given how Burton-campy they were (& the blood is sort of a paintish-orange color). Musical fans might really love this film--as will Tim Burton and Johnny Depp fans--but overall it's not their best. Also, Burton has got to stop giving his girlfriend lead roles she's not right for.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
5
jltjRJan 8, 2008
Great score Regular acting Worst job as a director by Tim Burton Still... Regular Movie
0 of 0 users found this helpful
5
JoeU.Feb 18, 2008
I should start my review by saying that I have seen all Sondheim musicals on stage without exception, and I have never been a big fan of his. I know this is not the accepted opinion among the self-appointed intelligentsia elites, especially I should start my review by saying that I have seen all Sondheim musicals on stage without exception, and I have never been a big fan of his. I know this is not the accepted opinion among the self-appointed intelligentsia elites, especially in NYC, but it is an opinion shared by many. Just count the ticket receipts from many of his plays, especially his latest ones, worldwide. Having said that, this is a movie, not a stage musical, but it is still a musical, which happens to be a movie. And I still didn't like it. I didn't like the musical part, I didn't care for the production values, and I didn't care for the blood and gore, that I can see anytime by watching any movie in the Chainsaw Massacre film series. I did like H.Bonham carter, despite all, but little else. I get the sense that many, especially critics, prefer not to criticize anything that comes from Sondheim, instead of voicing their truer, and more intimate opinions, from fear, rather than from their integrity.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
6
MaryM.Feb 24, 2008
Like Sleepy Hollow, this is a film which hovers somewhere between boring characters, too grey colours and fresreshing, honourable attempt to make an old-fashioned Gothic romance.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
5
DanielW.Dec 26, 2007
What's with the critics this season? This is the third seriously overrated film I've seen in the past quite short while. After a lifeless Atonement and a pointless No Country for Old Men, this may be the saddest cut of all (no pun What's with the critics this season? This is the third seriously overrated film I've seen in the past quite short while. After a lifeless Atonement and a pointless No Country for Old Men, this may be the saddest cut of all (no pun intended -- well maybe just a little bit). The music is fine, though not obviously suited to a filmed musical, but the singing is terrible on the part of all the principals, and Burton's visual flair is now seriously running the risk of descending into shtick. If you want to see a movie star who can actually sing, see John C. Reilly in Walk Hard. If you want to get the bejesus scared out of you, see The Orphanage. For visual inventiveness, Into the Wild and the Diving Bell and the Butterfly top this easily.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
4
BobS.Dec 29, 2007
Gore is excessive. Enjoyed stage version much more.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
5
SteveGJan 14, 2008
This is a beautiful looking movie with fine acting performances. Depp and Bonham Carter look terrific. But this is like a souless goth nightmare: It looks cool but has nothing real going on, other than looking cool and being bloody. Removing This is a beautiful looking movie with fine acting performances. Depp and Bonham Carter look terrific. But this is like a souless goth nightmare: It looks cool but has nothing real going on, other than looking cool and being bloody. Removing the "chorus" from the original play guts the moral center that the play delivered. Also Depp and Bonham Carter are so good looking that it's hard to see them as people whose lives have been so horrid that they are permanetly broken. This film suffers from the same problem as many of Burton's films: style over substance.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
5
xywJan 31, 2008
An absolute visual feast bogged down by teeth-jarring songs. Full marks are given to the half of the movie that consisted of normal conversation. Sometimes, leaving the cinema straight away seems a much more pleasant preposition than sitting An absolute visual feast bogged down by teeth-jarring songs. Full marks are given to the half of the movie that consisted of normal conversation. Sometimes, leaving the cinema straight away seems a much more pleasant preposition than sitting through apparently endless crooning of … Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
4
ShaneCApr 25, 2008
Sweeney todd was a crap film. Burton is running out of steam, and has been for quite some time: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was blah; Corpse Bridge was crap. He did Edward Scissorhands, Nightmare Before Christmas, and Sleepy Hollow; Sweeney todd was a crap film. Burton is running out of steam, and has been for quite some time: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was blah; Corpse Bridge was crap. He did Edward Scissorhands, Nightmare Before Christmas, and Sleepy Hollow; three pretty good films. What was Sweeney Todd (aside from another adaptation of someone else's work)?--A watered down (or bloodied up) uninspired mish mash of those three films. I mean that is exactly what it is, so exactly. I mean of course Burton is going to utilize his signature style in his works, but the similarities are beyond striking. If I didn't know it was Burton, I'd think it was a crap ripoff of him. Sweeney Todd is bland and cheap, no matter how much money they put into it. I probably would have thought even less of the film if I had seen the Broadway prior to seeing the film. Now I'm not even interested.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
4
ScottSDec 23, 2007
Far less intelligent, funny or dark than the recent Broadway revival, the film fails to realize that Sweeney Todd is as much about Mrs. Lovett as it is about Todd. They've dumbed it down to make it more "accessible", but it makes for a Far less intelligent, funny or dark than the recent Broadway revival, the film fails to realize that Sweeney Todd is as much about Mrs. Lovett as it is about Todd. They've dumbed it down to make it more "accessible", but it makes for a dull film. And Bonham Carter is, sadly, awful beyond description.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
5
PTomDec 23, 2007
Frankly, apart from Alan Rickman and Sacha Cohen, the performances of this film bored me. Depp is one of the most overrated actors in Hollywood- a collection of tics. I rarely see him making connections with others actors or connections to Frankly, apart from Alan Rickman and Sacha Cohen, the performances of this film bored me. Depp is one of the most overrated actors in Hollywood- a collection of tics. I rarely see him making connections with others actors or connections to the material. A rather selfish performer, I think.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
6
JudyTDec 26, 2007
Tim Burton needs to change his one dimensional view of Johnny Depp. This could have been a very good love story and murder romp but it wasn't that great.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
More From This Movie

83 Critic Reviews

7.7 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 77 Project Hail Mary
2 76 Hokum
3 74 Disclosure Day
4 73 Toy Story 5
5 73 Hoppers
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL