This modern day version of Hamlet is imaginative in its adaptation to the setting of modern day New York City, and its translation of court politics to modern corporations. While the cast is fine, Ethan Hawke's slacker interpretation of the title role, while appropriate, ultimately sucks most of the energy from the screenplay. The recent modern version of Romeo & Juliet managed to maintain its energy.
While the screenplay does a good job of shortening the play to a manageable length (half of Branaugh's 4 hour version), there are still some gaps where, if you don't know the play, you won't be able to follow. It's definately worth watching, especially for the performances of Hawke, Diane Venora as Gertrude and Bill Murray as Polonius, and it is MUCH better than the Mel Gibson version. But it isn't quite the breakthrough as Romeo & Juliet was.
While the screenplay does a good job of shortening the play to a manageable length (half of Branaugh's 4 hour version), there are still some gaps where, if you don't know the play, you won't be able to follow. It's definately worth watching, especially for the performances of Hawke, Diane Venora as Gertrude and Bill Murray as Polonius, and it is MUCH better than the Mel Gibson version. But it isn't quite the breakthrough as Romeo & Juliet was.