****
The Bennet sisters don't just have to balls, clothes and potential husbands to worry about: there's a zombie apocalypse coming and the world will require their warrior skills before they can settle down to wedded bliss.
First off, I would just like to say that I just assumed that this would be a 12A rated film, so when I sat in the cinema and the BBFC 15 rating come up on screen, I was actually quite surprised. Yes, I had expected some gore, but mostly I'd expected a film aimed at the YA cinema audience in the absence of Katniss... How wrong I was! This is a brilliant gore-fest, with rotting zombies popping up here, there and everywhere and causing mass panic, leading to excellently choreographed action scenes that are immensely enjoyable to watch. And it's funny too, with the wit of Jane Austen's original novel shining through, even as her heroines stab their way through hoards of the Undead in their petticoats. It's essentially a cast of very attractive people fighting off zombies in very beautiful costumes, but it is such good fun!
The cast are all on top form too. Lily James makes for a determined and fierce Elizabeth Bennet, desperate not to fall for the dashing Mr. Darcy (Sam Riley) whilst there are still zombies to defeat. She appears to be Hollywood's new leading lady, and deservedly so - here she proves that she's more than a pretty face, with excellent comic timing and an emotional complexity we haven't seen before in her more refined roles of 'Downton Abbey' and 'War and Peace'. Sam Riley rasps his way through his lines, cutting an imposing silhouette in his black leather coat. Seeing him as Darcy makes total sense; he encapsulates the dark, silent, dry essence of the character as well as any of his predecessors, delivering some of the laugh out loud moments of the film, with only a raise of an eyebrow. It is, however, Matt Smith who steals the show as Parson Collins, the overly enthusiastic buffoon determined to woe one of the ladies. Austen's character in itself is a comedic role, but Smith takes it to the next level, imitating Catherine de Bourgh (Lena Headey) over tea, and making a fool of himself everywhere he goes.
Aside from the numerous love-interests, there are plenty of blood spatters and action sequences, that keep the story galloping along at a fair old pace. The zombies look pretty scary, bit rotting off them and the like, and the gory manner in which they have to be dispatched makes you both jump and laugh at the same time. The opening scene is of one such dispatch, which had the woman in the row behind me say to her companion 'I don't like this!' It doesn't hold back on the blood and guts at all, and that's actually rather refreshing. Trained in the arts of fighting by the Chinese, the Bennet sisters also get to enjoy beautifully shot fight scenes, the one in which Elizabeth grapples with Darcy being a particular standout.
It isn't perfect by any means, but, my God, I had a great time watching it. It's action-packed, funny, smartly written, and featuring a host of actors having a great time in amazing costumes. And the decision to make it a 15 is an excellent one - it wouldn't be half as fun without the explicit zombie-killing violence. I was entertained and engaged throughout, and when it comes to cinema, sometimes you can't ask for anything more.
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